Touring without him (by me)

The 5 other D12 members are currently touring without Slim Shady, who is busy working on his next album. Despite the fact Eminem promised to make a few guest appearences during the D12 tour, many Eminem fans are disappointed not to see “the lead singer of the band” (just kidding).

But the crowd of disappointed fellow fans should also consider that this D12 tour without Eminem may be a real chance for the Proof, Kuniva, Kon Artis, Bizarre and Swifty to enlighten their individual talents and skills on stage.
Those of us who have seen Eminem on stage know that any other gifted rapper would probably be in his shadow as well as his D12 fellows.
It is not only that Eminem has a huge talent and lyrical skills: Marshall has charisma, he brings some magic into the show.
The way Marshall Mathers manages to captivate his audience is extraordinary, he creates so much complicity with his public. You gotta live it to understand that what I am saying is really true.

Because Eminem is such an extraordinary performer and such a skilled rapper, many commentators have dared saying that the other D12 members are whack rappers. Which is untrue. Those commentators who have tried, most of the time, to base their comments on D12’s second album “D12 World”.
I particularly disagree with one comment I read recently. In the “Chicago Maroon” from May 2004, Joe Hanson states:

“ Eminem is wrong to sing, “These chicks don’t even know the name of my band.” Guy or girl, everybody knows the name of Eminem’s band. It’s just that nobody cares. Many talented rappers have scooped up their old crews after finding success, and the result is always the same: a mediocre album with too little of the star and too much of the other guys. D12 could have easily avoided this problem with D12 World, but instead, they embrace it.”
Joe Hanson, Chicago Maroon May 15th 2004

First, he is wrong about everybody knowing the D12 members’ name. I could give him so many examples of people, guys or girls, who claim to be Eminem fans and who don’t know the D12 individually, except for the “lead singer”.

Second, I also disagree when he claims that the D12 member’s performances besides Marshall’s are weak. There are so many examples of good D12 members’ performances in “D12 World”. If you take a look a the videos, you will notice, Kon Artis’ excellent part in the “How Come” video. The way he acts and the way he raps in this video are far from being weak.
Have you watched Proof and Bizarre in the “40 oz” video? Both are simply great.
“Good Die Young”,which is a deeply moving song about Bugz, reveals the other members’ talent.

To Joe Hanson and to all the other people who keep saying that the 5 other D12 members are weak, I would like to ask following questions:

-have you really taken time to have a look at D12’s individual work, besides their two albums?

-have you taken enough time to study their lyrics, not only Eminem’s?

As I have pointed it out in former articles, it is really worth discovering D12’s solo and underground work.

“The Attack Of The Weirdos” is an example of Bizarre’s talent. Bizarre’s album is available on this website. Check it out:

http://www.the-s.com/bizarre.htm

If you have a deeper look at Bizarre’s biography, you will notice the many artists he has collaborated with.

To fully appreciate Proof, you need to have a deeper look at his solo and underground work. You will find some of his solo tracks on his official website:

www.bigproof.com

Songs like “Yzarc” (which I happen to love very much) are good examples of Proof’s solo work. Proof’s voice is uncommon, it has something raw inside. Proof also knows how to handle words and you will probably enjoy his freestyling qualities.

Before spreading some subjective opinion about the 5 other D12 members, take some time to have a deeper look at their individual talents. Check out “D12’s online mixtape” (where you will also enjoy Kuniva and Swifty’s freestyling abilities), Big Proof’s online mixtape:

http://www.d12world.com/index.php?s=audio

Don’t forget to check out D12’s former underground songs.
Then you might be entitled to express a more objective opinion about D12’s hardworking and gifted rappers.