When we finally landed in Queens, Proof kissed the ground in the middle of the street. And we went to the store, got like 20 bottles of liquor, got drunk, and rode home to Detroit listening to Jodeci songs.
July 2004
Now that Eminem’s backup singers are refusing to play second fiddle, you may as well get to know them. Read on as Raqiyah Mays documents a dozen dirty facts to help you get familiar with D12.
In 2002, D12 sold 4 million copies worldwide of their debut album, Devil’s Night. But as the cameras focused on Eminem, the individual identities of Bizarre, Kon Artis, Swift, Kuniva, and Proof seemed to blur together. Hence the group’s new truth-based single, “My Band.” The irony is that the song about Eminem’s overwhelming shadow just might be what earns the rest of the fellas their shine. In the meantime, here’s what you need to know about this tight-knit group.
1) KON ARTIST GIVES A DIFFERENT SPIN TO THE TERM METROSEXUAL.
When he’s not producing songs like 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P.” and G Unit’s “Stunt 101,” Kon Artis likes to get manicures and facials. For him, 2004 is all about self-love. “I’m just tryin’ to teach myself how to rest. Since we started, I ain’t stopped,” he says. “I’ll be 30 next year. I went to the doctor, and he said I was fine, but I got a heart murmur so I have to take care of myself.
2) BEFORE THE RECORD DEAL, EVERYONE SHARED EMINEM’S CAR.
Eminem and Kon Artis once shared an apartment and a car. That is, until their ride’s fog light got smashed. “It was a little white Tracer, like an Escort,” says Artis. “He thinks I crashed it. He said I asked to use the car to go to 7-Eleven. But he used to always leave the car in the driveway. Other people were in the house, and they used his keys in the morning and move his car. I think one of them motherfuckers backed out and hit the front of his car. I used to steal cars. I know how to drive.”
3) KUNIVA SAYS CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS
“I’m a cleaning fanatic. That’s why I got plastic cups,” says Kuniva, who uses disposable dishes so his sink can stay spotless. “It’s not just the neatness that matters, it’s also about what’s going on in the refrigerator.” And what happens when he comes home and sees the top off the milk container? “I just go crazy! I just can’t take that.”
4) D12 COULD VERY WELL STAND FOR “DADDIES OF 12”
Aside from the group’s name being a take on the six men and their aliases (each one has two names), every member of the Dirty Dozen is a big poppa – minus Kon Artis, who found himself in a Jerry Springer-like predicament two years ago. “I was taking care of this boy for four years,” says Artis, of a child he believed to be his. Swift, on the other hand, has three children. Eminem raises a niece along with his world-famous daughter, Hailie. Kuniva’s wife recently gave birth to a girl to keep company with their toddler son.
Proof has an 8- year old daughter and three boys, while Bizarre claims his wife’s 17-year-old daughter. Without Artis’s near child, that equals 12 kids among them. “I tried my best, but it hurt to stay ’cause I knew I wasn’t really his daddy,” Artis says. “So when he gets older, if he really needs me, I’ll be there.” Yes D12 is for the children.
5) PROOF MAY NOT CRY OVER SPILLED MILK, BUT THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.... WELL, THAT’S A DIFFERENT STORY.
“When I took my son to school for the first time, I couldn’t stop crying. And I didn’t understand why,” he says. “But I realized I was cryin’ because I broke the cycle of my father not being in my life. So that was a good thing.”
6) BIZARRE BELIEVES WOMEN ARE LIKE FINE WINE: THEY GET MUCH BETTER WITH AGE.
At 25, Bizarre is the youngest member of D12. Married for two years, his wife is several years older than he. “I can’t deal with no younger girl,” he says. “ My experiences are just more mature. And older women want more things in life.” And while he carries a heavy load (Eminem tells him that he’s pregnant), Bizarre estimates his wife is somewhere around 5’10”, 110 pounds. “I never thought I would be with someone like that,” he says. “Yeah, she’s little. But she’s little and mature.”
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