Rapper and D12 member DeShaun Holton, better known as Proof, was shot and killed last Tuesday, April 11, outside of a Detroit night club. The shooting suspect, Mario Etheridge of Detroit, was arraigned Saturday on weapons charges, but not for the murder itself. Detroit police are claiming that Etheridge shot Proof only after the rapper shot Keith Bender, Etheridge’s cousin. Bender died from his wounds on Tuesday.
Hundreds attended Proof’s funeral service today, including a slew of Detroit rappers, most notably Eminem. Proof was one of Eminem’s closest friends and was the inspiration for the Mekhi Phifer character Future in the Eminem biopic “8-Mile”. At the service, the rapper noted that “without Proof, there would be no Eminem, no Slim Shady.”
Fellow Detroit rapper and Eminem confidant Obie Trice, who was shot in the head on New Year’s Eve, was also in attendence. “I want to talk to the black men living in the hood. We’re killing each other, and it’s about nothing,” he said.
