D12's Proof and Eminem's best friend dies in a shooting

Proof, whose real name is Deshaun Holton, was killed early Tuesday in a shooting at the CCC, a nightclub in a strip of businesses along Eight Mile, the road made famous in the 2002 film starring Eminem.

The 32-year-old rapper, a member of D12, was the best man in Eminem's January wedding. Seldom was Eminem seen in public without Proof. "He pushed me to become who I am. Without Proof's guidance and encouragement there would have been a Marshall Mathers, but probably not an Eminem and certainly never a Slim Shady," the statement by the 33-year-old rap superstar said. "He can never, ever be replaced. He was, and always will be, my best friend."

Police have said that Proof fired the first bullet inside the nightclub, touching off a shootout that ended his life.