D12 (aka
The Dirty Dozen) are an American hip-hop group originating from Detroit,
Michigan which have had albums reach the top of the US and UK album charts -
Devil's Night in
2001 and
D12 World
in
2004. D12 was formed in 1990, but they only came into the
hip hop spotlight when their most accomplished member,
Eminem, had
risen to international fame and notoriety in the early part of the 21st
century, although D12 had been a powerful force in the underground rap scene
for several years prior.
Early career
D12 (also known as Dirty Dozen and D Twizzy) was initially formed in 1991
by Proof who invited local Detroit rappers such as Bizarre,
Eminem and other members who would leave the crew before it achieved
success including
Eye Kyu, Killa Hawk and Fuzz. The group was a loose collective in the vein
of Wu-Tang Clan. Several members began making names for themselves in hip
hop during the late 1990s. Bizarre was named Inner City Entertainment's "Flava
of the Week". He would also release an album entitled Attack Of The Weirdos
and become a member of Tha Outsidaz with
Eminem and
Rah Digga. Proof won a freestyling competition run by The Source in 1998.
However, it was as a solo artist that D12 member Eminem found success.
All of the members of D12 have aliases and Eminem chose Slim Shady as his.
He recorded an independent EP called
The Slim Shady EP in
1997 that caught the attention of famed rap producer Dr. Dre and Interscope
CEO Jimmy Iovine, and soon signed to Aftermath/Interscope, releasing his breakthrough album
The Slim Shady LP in 1999 which went on to be certified 4x platinum
in the U.S.
Eminem's success persuaded Proof to establish D12 on a more permanent
basis in early
1999. As well as
Eminem and
Bizarre, he recruited
Kuniva, Kon Artis and Bugz to join the group. Kuniva and Kon Artis were
previously part of Da Brigade. However, Bugz passed away in Detroit on May
21, 1999 because of a gun incident at a picnic that turned into a shooting
death, leading the group to recruit Swift to take his place. Each of the members of the crew wears a tattoo
of Bugz's name in his honor. The tracks "Good Die Young" and "Bugz 97" (the
latter of which features an appearance from Bugz) on D12 World are
also in his memory.
The six members of D12 signed a contract with Eminem's Shady Records and
Interscope in 1999. The fact that D12 rose to prominence after Eminem
led many people to assume that the other members had less significance in
the group - this would be the concept of the group's 2004 hit single "My
Band".
Despite Eminem's prominence in the music industry, D12 insists that there
is no frontman in the group and that Eminem is just another member. In spite
of this, D12 recently began to tour as a separate entity to
Eminem, a
controversial move that could lead to confusion among concert-goers who may
believe they are paying to see
Eminem as
well as the other five performers.
Chart success
Their debut album,
Devil's Night, referring to
the old Detroit tradition of setting abandoned buildings on fire (something
that has since become a thing of the past in Detroit) the night before
Halloween, was released in June 2001. It debuted at number one on the US and UK chart, also reaching the
top of the Canadian charts. Devil's Night went on to sell four
million albums worldwide and two million in the US. It featured the
following hit singles:
- "Purple Hills" (originally "Purple Pills" before radio refused to
play it) went top 20 on
the Billboard 100 and number 1 on the rap tracks charts in 2001 as
well as number 2 in the UK and top 10 in Australia;
- "Shit On You" reached the UK top 10 and Canadian top 5; and
- "Fight Music", featuring
Ice T and Fat Joe
in its music video, reached the UK top 20 and Australian Top 40.
The group's second album was D12 World released on
April 7, 2004 featured production by Dr. Dre, Eminem himself and Kanye West
and guest appearances by Obie Trice and B-Real. It debuted at the top of the
US, UK and Australian album charts and number 2 in Germany, selling over
half a million records in its first week of release in the US alone. "My
Band", the first single, also has been successful reaching number one in
Australia and the US rhythmic top 40, top 5 in the UK and Germany and top 10
on the Billboard Hot 100.
Group members
As
of 2006, D12 consists of six members:
- Eminem
aka Slim Shady;
-
Proof aka Derty Harry;
- Kon Artis also Mr. Denaun Porter;
-
Swift aka Swifty McVay;
- Kuniva
aka Rondell Beene; and
-
Bizarre, aka Peter S. Bizarre.
Past members of the group include
Bugz, Eye-Kyu, and Blizzard.
Discography
Albums
-
Devil's Night (2001) #1 US (2x Platinum), #1 UK (4 million
worldwide)
-
D12
World (2004) #1 US (2x Platinum), #1 UK (4 million worldwide)
- Untitled Project (06/07)
Singles
- Non-album single/some editions or bonus disc of Devil's Night
- 2001 "Shit
on You" #10 UK
- From Devil's Night
- 2001 "Purple
Pills" #19 US, #2 UK
- 2001 "Fight
Music" #11 UK
- Non-album single (free download single from Gorillaz website -
http://www.gorillaz.com/)
- 2001 "911"
(with
Gorillaz featuring Terry Hall)
- From D12 World
- 2004 "My
Band" #6 US, #2 UK
- 2004 "How
Come" #27 US, #4 UK
External links
