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D12
D12 at the Anger Management tour in 2005
Background information
Also known as	The Dirty Dozen
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop horrorcore
Years active	1996–2006 2008–2018
Labels	Shady Interscope
Past members	Eminem Proof Bizarre Mr. Porter Kuniva Swifty McVay Bugz Fuzz Scoota

D12 (an initialism for the Dirty Dozen) was an American hip hop collective from Detroit, Michigan. Formed in 1996, the group achieved mainstream success with its lineup of de facto leader Eminem, Proof, Bizarre, Mr. Porter, Kuniva and Swifty McVay.

D12 had chart-topping albums in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia during the early 2000s. The group released the albums Devil's Night in 2001 and D12 World in 2004, spawning numerous hits such as "Shit on You", "Purple Pills", "Fight Music", "My Band" and "How Come" throughout that period. Both albums were certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

In 2004, the group won the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Act.

Since 2006, Eminem's hiatus and the death of Proof resulted in the group being less active in subsequent years. Between 2008 and 2015, D12 released three official mixtapes with the core lineup reduced to Bizarre, Kuniva and Swifty McVay, with isolated token appearances by Eminem and some contributions from Mr. Porter and Fuzz Scoota.

On August 31, 2018, Eminem released his tenth studio album Kamikaze, containing a song titled "Stepping Stone", announcing that D12 had officially disbanded.

History

Early career, The Underground EP and death of Bugz (1996–2000)

D12 was initially formed in 1996 by Proof who invited local Detroit rappers such as Bizarre, Da Brigade members Mr. Porter and Kuniva, and Bugz. The name of the band was conceived as, despite having six members, each member had an alter ego they displayed in their music, which meant that there were 12 personalities. In 1997, they released their debut extended play, The Underground EP, which was recorded between 1996 and 1997. Eminem and Eye-Kyu had guest appearances on it. In 1997 and 1998, its members began establishing reputations locally. Bizarre was named Inner City Entertainment's "Flava of the Week" and went on to release an EP, Attack of the Weirdos. Along with Eminem, he became an honorary member of the Outsidaz. Proof won a freestyling competition run by The Source.

In 1999, Bugz released These Streets EP, and made several appearances on other rappers' songs. On May 21, 1999, Bugz was shot and killed. One of his final acts had been a request that Swifty McVay join the group. Eminem volunteered to replace Bugz; this led to him joining the group.

Devil's Night, D12 World and death of Proof (2001–2006)

Their debut album, Devil's Night, referring to the tradition of setting unoccupied buildings on fire the night before Halloween, was released in June 2001. It debuted at number one on the U.S. and number two on the UK chart, also reaching the top of the Canadian charts. The album went on to sell four million albums worldwide and two million in the U.S.

D12 World was released on April 27, 2004, featuring production by Eminem, Mr. Porter, Dr. Dre and Kanye West, and guest appearances by Obie Trice on the track "Loyalty" and B-Real of Cypress Hill on the track "American Psycho II". It debuted at the top of the U.S., UK, and Australian albums charts, and at number two in Germany—selling over half a million records in its first week of release in the U.S. alone. "My Band", the album's first single, also reached number one in Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. rhythmic top forty, the top five in the UK and Germany, and the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2005, Bizarre and Proof released their debut studio albums Hannicap Circus and Searching for Jerry Garcia. They debuted at numbers 48 and 65 on the U.S., respectively.

On April 11, 2006, Proof "pistol-whipped an unarmed man and shot him in the head", and was in turn fatally shot by the man's cousin.

Since then, Eminem was no longer a member of the group, having guest appearances only on two tracks, "Fame" on Return of the Dozen Vol. 2 (2011) and "Devil's Night Intro" on The Devil's Night Mixtape (2015). On December 5, 2006, Shady Records released Eminem Presents: The Re-Up which featured performances by Eminem, 50 Cent, Obie Trice, Stat Quo, Bobby Creekwater and Cashis while affiliated artists such as Lloyd Banks, Akon and Nate Dogg, made guest appearances. Some tracks were collaborative performances from D12 members, such as "Murder" by Bizarre and Kuniva and "Whatever You Want" by Swifty McVay and Mr. Porter. The track "Trapped" by Proof included an intro by Eminem paying his final respects saying, "Big Proof, rest in peace dudey we love you. We just wanna keep making you proud."

Mixtapes, unreleased third studio album and disbandment (2008–2018)

On May 21, 2008, D12 released their first mixtape Return of the Dozen Vol. 1. In 2010, the group recorded "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" for Eminem's scrapped seventh studio album Relapse 2. The mixtape Return of the Dozen Vol. 2 (2011) followed three years later. It featured Fuzz Scoota, a new member of the group. On August 5, 2011, D12 performed at the Kanrocksas Music Festival. In 2012, Bizarre and Mr. Porter left the group.

In January 2014, Mark Bass of the Bass Brothers confirmed that D12 had been recently recording at the F.B.T. studio and he had been mixing their recorded material. He also confirmed that Eminem was featured on at least three songs that had been completed. In February 2014, Bizarre confirmed that he was back in the group and that D12 would be releasing their third studio album during 2014. On August 25, 2014, a press release on Eminem's official website also revealed D12 to be featured on the label's upcoming two-disc compilation album, titled Shady XV. The album, released on November 24, 2014, featured one greatest hits disc and one disc with new material from a variety of Shady Records recording artists, including D12. Their new song was entitled "Bane", which features the return of Mr. Porter and was also produced by him.

On August 18, 2015, D12 confirmed on Tim Westwood TV that they had already recorded a large number of songs for the album and will release it "when the time is right." On October 1, 2015, it was announced that D12 would be releasing a new mixtape, The Devil's Night Mixtape. It was released on October 30, 2015 and featured Royce da 5'9", Crooked I and Young Buck. The mixtape was hosted by DJ Whoo Kid.

On August 31, 2018, Eminem released his tenth studio album Kamikaze, containing a song titled "Stepping Stone", announcing that D12 had officially disbanded.

After disbandment (2021–present)

In 2021, Devil's Night was re-released digitally as an expanded edition to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its release which featured three bonus tracks, an unreleased freestyle, and the instrumentals.

In 2023, former members Swifty McVay and Kuniva reunited and opened for several shows of Snoop Dogg's I Wanna Thank Me Tour, in which they performed D12 songs. Later that year, they played shows in the UK and the Netherlands in celebration of D12 World's 20th anniversary.

Members

Former members

• Eminem (1999–2006)
• Proof (1996–2006; his death)
• Bizarre (1996–2006, 2008–2012, 2014–2018)
• Mr. Porter (1996–2006, 2008–2012, 2014–2018)
• Kuniva (1996–2006, 2008–2018)
• Swifty McVay (1999–2006, 2008–2018)
• Bugz (1996–1999; his death)
• Fuzz Scoota (2011–2014)

Timeline

Awards and nominations

Discography

Studio albums

• Devil's Night (2001)
• D12 World (2004)

Notes

1. 2023: Partial reunion

References

1. Reeves, Mosi (July 8, 2004). "World Famous". New Times Broward-Palm Beach. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
2. Cohen, Sara (2007). Decline, Renewal and the City in Popular Music Culture: Beyond The Beatles. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-7546-3243-6. The music journalist and author Dan Sicko describes certain strains of Detroit hip-hop as 'an extreme, almost parodied' version of inner city life, which he links to the extremities of urban decline in the city: 'both the horrorcore of hip-hop outfits such as Insane Clown Posse, Esham and (to a lesser extent) the multi-platinum-selling Eminem, utilize shocking (and blatantly over the top) narratives to give an over-exaggerated, almost cartoon-like version of urban deprivation in Detroit' (cited in Cohen and Strachan, 2005).
3. "5 Beefs Eminem Actually Squashed". HipHopDX. September 8, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
4. "D12 Chart Success". D12 WORLD. Archived from the original on January 6, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
5. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
6. ^ Shifferaw, Abel; Skelton, Eric (August 31, 2018). "A Roundup of Rappers Eminem Name-Drops and Takes Shots at on 'Kamikaze'". Complex. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
7. "D12World.com: Swift member page". D12 World. 2001. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
8. Joseph Patel, with reporting by Rahman Bugg. "Eminem: Rolling The Dice On D12". MTVNews.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2007.
9. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 133. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
10. "D12, Eminem, 50 Cent and Others Attend Proof's Funeral". SixShot.com. April 20, 2006. Archived from the original on December 31, 2007. Retrieved January 13, 2008.
11. Robertson, Jessica (April 11, 2006). "D12 Rapper Proof Fatally Shot". Rolling Stone @ RollingStone.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2006.
12. "D12 Return of the Dozen (Vol 1) mixtape". Rapbasement. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
13. Phillips, Rashad (March 23, 2010). "D12's Bizarre Talks Relapse 2, Canibus Diss Track | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
14. "D12 Welcomes New Member Fuzz Scoota". Archived from the original on April 12, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
15. "D12 – Artist Lineup – Kanrocksas Music Festival". Kanrocksas Music Festival. Archived from the original on September 3, 2011.
16. "Bizarre leaves D12". This is 50 Blog. March 25, 2019. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
17. "Eminem And D12 Are Making Music Again - XXL". January 22, 2014. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
18. "Bizarre Says Eminem Inspired Him To Get Sober". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
19. "D12 Tim Westwood Interview 2015". YouTube. August 18, 2015.
20. Lilah, Rose (October 30, 2015). "D12 – The Devil's Night: Mixtape". Hot New Hip Hop. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
21. Gase, Zach (October 30, 2015). "D12 releases 'Devil's Night' mixtape". Sun Times. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
22. "D12". bandsintown. Retrieved January 21, 2023.

• Detroit hip-hop groups
• Eminem
• Horrorcore groups
• Musical groups established in 1996
• Musical groups disestablished in 2018
• 1996 establishments in Michigan
• Midwest hip-hop groups
• Shady Records artists
• Hardcore hip-hop groups
• MTV Europe Music Award winners
• Hip-hop collectives
• American musical sextets