Keepin' it Real vs. Staying Alive

The more I hear about the shooting of Proof, the more I have to wonder how avoidable this was.


The more I hear about the shooting of Proof, the more I have to wonder how avoidable this was. I'm not trying to blame the victim, but its tragic that this man was killed in a situation that he did not need to be in. Proof was shot and killed at an after hours club, C3, at 4:30AM yesterday. The club was on 8 Mile Road, a particularly grimy section of Detroit. Proof apparently went to the club without any bodyguards -- it was not uncommon for people to see Proof at various late night spots in Detroit without any protection. There was some sort of verbal altercation -- there still has not been a whole lot of details released about it -- that resulted in Proof and another man getting shot. Proof died on the scene while the other man is still in critical condition.

Let me give some advice to any of you out there who may one day become millionaires. Once you have enough money to do so, move out of the 'hood. There are enough jealous, gully cats out there that will try to start something with you just because you're a celebrity. As Jay-Z said: If I shoot you I'm brainless / But if you shoot me then you're famous. And there are a lot of people out there looking to get famous. Given the fact that Proof is as big a celebrity in Detroit as Eminem is, I doubt that this was just a random incident or that the shooter did not know who Proof was.

If you do insist on going back to the hood after you've made a name for yourself, bring a bodyguard. I realize the hip hop game is messed up right now, and in the minds of a lot of people just walking around with security is equivalent to being a snitch, but that's just what you have to do. Just look at another recent incident, where by most accounts Busta Rhymes would have been killed if not for his bodyguard taking the bullet for him.Like Tupac and Biggie before him, Proof left behind several songs that dealt with the subject of his own demise. First there was the video for Eminem's Toy Soldiers, where Proof acts out his own shooting death. Then, this past November, Proof released Searching for Jerry Garcia. Described by Proof as a concept album, Searching... focuses on the subject of dead music icons. On one song, Kurt Kobain, Proof reads out a hypothetical suicide letter. That description sounds a bit disturbing, but the actual lyrics in the song summarize Proof quite well: he talks about how much he loved the rap game, his fans, his family and his crew. Check it out, it does a good job of showing what Proof was capable of on the mic:

Download Kurt Kobain (mp3)

Then go out and buy Proof's Searching For Jerry Garcia. Its significantly better than either D12 Album or Eminem's more recent releases. Its a shame that this album is probably going to sell a lot more now that Proof is dead than when he was alive.

Also check out this retrospective on Proof, from MTV.