Part of 7 days of Proof at DetroitHipHop.net.
Before Eminem and D12 burst onto the scene, Proof was already making a name for himself. Well known in the Detroit underground through his Goon Sqwad, 5 Ela affiliations (and others), Proof was also honing his MC skills as a host and participant of various battles (including those at Maurice Malone’s Hip Hop Shop).
In the late 90’s Proof ventured out of state with a Jay Dee produced demo in hand and snatched the “Unsigned Hype Live Tour” battle championship which got many peoples’ attention, including The Source.
Riggs Morales had a “Unsigned Hype” write-up in the May 1999 issue of The Source:
The fact that Detroit’s Proof won this column’s live tour battle and happened to take out some of the nations’s finest is only 25 percent of the reason he’s earned his dap on Unsigned Hype. Fifty percent goes to his unique freestyle ability which, if spilt, would be divided between spontaneous punchlines and charisma. the remaining quarter is given to the tactics which he controlled the crowd. From his Motor-city hometown to NY’s club Expo, where he was crowned champion, Proof constantly kept his audience on their toes, looking forward to his next lines. Then, when it was his opponent’s time to rhyme, Proof would taunt his adversary, making them lose focus. Taking advantage of the distraction, Proof hit with lines like: “I can’t believe you people/ Y’all actually like him?/ The nigga so wack/ He makes Master P sound like Rakim.” The response? Roars. The outcome? Victory.
Most of the cuts on his demo were produced by the Ummah’s Jay Dee, a producer known for his countless contributions to the Native Tongue projects and the upcoming Slum Village album. Jay Dee best captures Proof’s ability for making a record by providing a varied, melodic background. With numerous ways to please the ear stored within Proof’s impressive catalogue, it’ll only be time before he gets his chance to show the full 100 percent of his talent that could one day make any label happy.
-From issue 116 of The Source.
How unfortunate is it that Eminem never put out a Proof album on Shady Records. Several other artists were signed and subsequently released albums on Shady while Proof and fans waited and waited. Finally in 2005, Proof released his national debut, Searching for Jerry Garcia, on his own, independently. Although the D12 experiences gave him a taste of super-stardom, those albums were never a true barometer of his artistry. Sadly it took the tragedy of his death for many to realize his talent.
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