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This controversial Detroit, Michigan, USA-based populist hip-hop crew have benefited from their close involvement with Eminem, who stayed true to his word by taking a break from his highly successful solo career and recording with his former cohorts. Also known as the Dirty Dozen, D12 was formed in 1990 by Proof aka Dirty Harry (b. DeShaun Holton, 2 October 1975), who was joined by various personnel including Bizarre aka Peter S. Bizarre (b. Rufus Johnson, 5 July 1976), Eminem aka Slim Shady (b. Marshall Bruce Mathers III, 17 October 1973, Kansas City, Missouri, USA), Eiy Kyu, Fuzz, and Killa Hawk. All of the members created an alter-ego, which in Eminem's case (Slim Shady) turned out to be a hugely successful creation. Proof decided to establish D12 on a more permanent basis at the time Eminem was signing a major recording contract with Interscope Records. Bizarre and Eminem returned alongside Kon Artis aka Mr. Denaun Porter (b. Denaun Porter, 7 December 1978), Kuniva aka Rondell Beene (b. Von Carlisle, 10 December 1976), and Bugz aka Robert Beck (b. Karnail Paul Pitts), although the latter was murdered in 1999 and replaced by Swift aka Swifty McVeigh (b. Ondre Moore, 17 March 1976). The six-strong crew continued to call themselves D12, counting each of their alter-egos as another member. They signed a recording contract with Interscope and Eminem's own Shady Records label, and began work on their debut long-player with Dr. Dre. The album was preceded by the controversial singles "Purple Pills", that had to be renamed "Purple Hills" to gain radio play, and "Shit On You". Devil's Night debuted at number 1 in the US and UK album charts in June 2001.
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