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Twenty years have passed since Eminem lost his closest friend and creative partner, and the pain hasn’t dulled one bit.
On April 11, 2026, the rap legend took to social media to share an emotional tribute to Proof, the D12 founding member who was gunned down two decades earlier at the CCC Club on Eight Mile Road in Detroit.
Eminem’s message wasn’t just nostalgia. It was a raw acknowledgment of how deeply Proof shaped his entire life and career.
“Doody, can’t believe it’s been 20 years since you’ve been gone! Not a day goes by that I don’t think about you in some way shape or form,” Eminem said. “You were and are still truly one of the greatest friends I ever had in my entire life and I thank God everyday that he put us in each other’s lives.. I feel like that happened for a reason.”
Doody, can’t believe it’s been 20 years since you’ve been gone! Not a day goes by that I don’t think about you in some way shape or form…You were and are still truly one of the greatest friends I ever had in my entire life and I thank God everyday that he put us in each other’s… pic.twitter.com/3I51lM7xGe
— Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) April 11, 2026
The tribute reveals something most people don’t fully understand about their bond.
Eminem and Proof met on the steps of Osborne while Marshall was handing out flyers, and they instantly connected over their shared passion for Hip-Hop.
That single moment changed everything. Proof’s credibility in Detroit’s underground scene opened doors that would’ve stayed locked otherwise
When Proof cosigned Marshall at clubs and open mics, people actually listened instead of dismissing him outright. That validation from someone respected in the culture was everything.
What makes Eminem’s message so powerful is how he credits Proof with building his confidence and self-esteem during those crucial early years.
“Your credibility was enough to open people’s minds to not judge me until they heard me and you were one of the first ones who got people to listen before they passed any judgment,” Eminem continued.
Without Proof’s belief in him, Marshall’s trajectory would’ve been completely different. The two weren’t just collaborators.
They were brothers who understood each other’s vision and pushed each other to be better. Eminem says not a day goes by that he doesn’t think about Proof in some way, shape, or form.
The circumstances surrounding Proof’s death remain complicated.
On April 11, 2006, Proof was shot during an altercation at the CCC Club after he’d shot and killed Keith Bender, the cousin of the man who would fire the fatal shots.
Mario Etheridge, 28, claimed he was acting in self-defense when he shot Proof multiple times. Etheridge was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon and discharging a firearm inside a building.
Judge Vera Massey Jones sentenced him to time served and a $2,000 fine in October 2006, a decision that left many in the Hip-Hop community questioning the outcome.
Eminem’s 2004 song “You’re Never Over” served as his first major public tribute to Proof, but this 20-year anniversary message shows the wound is still fresh and the love is still real.
