Ü         Three Grammys, two Source Awards and 14 million records later, the artist known as Eminem (a.k.a. Marshall Mathers) continues to exceed expectations. Now Marshall Mathers, entrepreneur, will officially introduce the world to five more of Detroit’s wildest wordsmiths via his new imprint, Shady Records. D12, a.k.a. Dirty Dozen (Proof, Kon Artis, Bizarre, Kuniva, Swifty, plus the Shady One himself), made their red carpet debut with Devil’s Night in June 2001.

Named after the notorious night before Halloween in which the city’s relentless youth run amok, Devil’s Night features Em and company tearin’ mics over production from Dr. Dre, DJ Head, Kon Artis and Eminem.

Raw and rambunctious from the outset, D12 includes Em and five of his Motor City comrades who, like him, double up on their personas in order to unleash more energy: Denaun, a.k.a Kon Artis; Big Proof, a.k.a. Dirty Harry; Swift, a.k.a Swifty McVeigh; Kuniva, a.k.a. Rondell Beene; and Bizarre, a.k.a. Peter S. Bizarre.

Most members of D12 had already established themselves throughout hip-hop’s underground segment with their respective solo careers. Bizarre independently released his debut EP, Attack of the Weirdos in 1997. Swifty was earning his stripes as one half of the BMG/Mecca Don Records recording artist, Rabeez, while Proof released the indie singles, “Searchin” and “Anywhere." Instantly finding a common bond with their outrageous subject matter, the assembled forces honed their skills under the alias D12 (six members x two personalities = D12).