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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.
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.
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:
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.
As of 2006, D12 consists of six members:
Past members of the group include Bugz, Eye-Kyu, and Blizzard.
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