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Proof Laid to Rest at Emotional Funeral

Deshaun Holton -- better known to the world as the rapper Proof -- was laid to rest Wednesday (April 19) at a packed funeral service in his hometown of Detroit, not far from the nightclub where he was shot to death last week. Some 2,000 mourners packed into the Fellowship Chapel and many more snaked in lines around the block, hoping to get a glimpse of the late rapper's casket and the many famous faces who turned out to pay tribute to their departed friend and colleague.

A red-eyed, emotional Eminem spoke during the ceremony, struggling to hold back tears as he talked about the man who "taught me how to be a leader when I didn't know how to." "I'm sure everybody who has ever met him, even just once, can testify to the fact that he illuminated a room when he walked in it," Em told mourners. "Without Proof, there would be no Eminem, no Slim Shady, no D12."

Onetime D12 member Obie Trice also spoke during the service, and took the opportunity to address the violence that took Proof's life. "I want to talk to the black men in here that's coming up in the 'hood, coming up in the struggle," he reportedly said. "We're killing each other, dawg. And it's about nothing. Nothing. Nothing. We're all dying...over nothing."

Among the other notable attendees at the two-hour-plus service were 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, Xzibit, Trick Trick and members of Naughty By Nature. Members of D12 were also present, including Swift, who missed a court date to attend and serve as a pallbearer, and now faces possible arrest and jail time as a result.

"While I recognize the importance of attending a funeral...there is a requirement that you make some effort to comply with a court order," the judge in Swift's case reportedly declared when issuing the arrest warrant. Swift was facing charges of drunk driving and violating the terms of his parole.

--The ARTISTdirect Staff
04.20.06