Eminem Pays Tribute To Proof And Busta Rhymes
Thursday July 06, 2006 @ 06:00 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Eminem

Eminem continues to pay tribute to his best friend and late D12 comrade Proof following the April 11 shooting that left the 32-year-old rapper dead.

Eminem and Shady Records have launched BigProof4Ever.com, where Proof T-shirts and posters are being sold to raise money for the Big Proof Forever Foundation — an organization launched to benefit Proof's five children. The shirts and posters feature an image of Proof and the words "Big Proof Forever 1973-2006." They were designed by Shepard Fairey, the graphic artist who created the anti-authority Obey Giant campaign in the '80s.

The site also features part of the eulogy that Eminem delivered at Proof's funeral. "Right now, there's a lot of people focusing on the way he died," says Marshall Mathers in an audio clip.

"I want to remember the way he lived. Proof was funny, he was smart, he was charming. He inspired everyone around him. He can never, ever be replaced. He was, and always will be, my best friend."

Proof (real name Deshaun Holton) was shot and killed by Mario Etheridge at the 3C Club on Detroit's infamous Eight Mile Road after Proof allegedly shot and killed Etheridge's cousin, Keith Bender Jr.. Etheridge has since been charged with two felony weapons offences.

Eminem came out of his so-called retirement when he returned to the stage at the BET Awards on June 27. In his first onstage performance since last year's Anger Management tour, Eminem teamed up with Busta Rhymes and added a new verse to his "Touch It" remix out of love for his fellow hip-hop star. There are no official plans to release the remix featuring the new verse, but the performance is all over the internet.

Eminem has been in the studio working on Obie Trice's Second Round's On Me album that's due in stores on August 15. Em is the album's executive producer and added some beats and raps to it.

DJ Whoo Kid recently told MTV News that Eminem and other members of the Shady Records family have been recording freestyles and will have a new mixtape in a matter of weeks.

—Max Hayman