At the peak of D12’s success, the group seemed to have no fear and no boundaries. Looking back, Mr. Porter sees the damage it did, but also remembers how daring and unstoppable Proof was.
The four-hour conversation with Denaun Porter on the 3rd Verse podcast wouldn’t be complete without a story or two about Proof. Inspired by the question about Proof’s verse on Gorillaz’s new track (Denaun hadn’t heard it), Mr. Porter reflected on how naturally Proof would fit into today’s culture. Then he and Stat Quo recalled a story from the 2005 Anger Management 3 tour.
Mr. Porter: Proof would just go places and be there. If he were here now, he would be doing what IShowSpeed does before anyone else had the chance.
Stat Quo: We were on tour in Las Vegas, and everyone had been told to stay in their rooms ’cause Suge Knight was at the Palms Hotel.
Mr. Porter: We weren’t staying in the rooms. That was the last thing we were worried about. We invited that. All that “Purple pill” shit…We got there all fucked up. We did not give no fucks about none of that.
Stat Quo: Not at all! We saw Suge while we were shooting craps. He came over and tried to shake my hand. I reached out, and Proof smacked my hand down and said, “That’s the nigga who got Pac killed”. Right in Suge’s face. I’m not a gangster. I was like, shit, we’re about to get fucked up. Proof didn’t give a fuck.
Mr. Porter: That group didn’t care. That’s what we were. We were fucking shit up. I’m glad there were no cameras around then. We were in court all the time for dumb little shit we shouldn’t have been doing. There was never fear about that. We grew up around people like Suge, and there were lots of these people. There were way worse than him. They weren’t in front of cameras, and you didn’t see them coming. But a trail of damage you leave for families and people with the shit that you do – it’s not the move. But back then, we didn’t care.
Interestingly, this story adds context to one of Eminem’s songs that only became known after it leaked. In the massive winter 2025 leak, there was a vicious diss, “Smack You”, where Eminem made the accusation explicit:
I’m holdin’ Suge responsible for the deaths of the two greatest rappers to ever grace the face of this planet.
There was more, and many fans agreed that if Eminem released this song back then, it could have started a war. However, what came as a revelation for some was clearly not a new idea to Proof and Eminem, even back then. And Proof, apparently, was reckless enough to say it directly to a man he believed was responsible for Tupac’s death.