D12 concert review

By Lionel-Patrick Chimdubem

Brixton Academy , London - 20 September 2004

D12 aka ‘Dirty Dozen’, are Proof, Bizarre, Kuniva, Swifty, Kon Artis and Eminem. Having just released their second album, ‘D12 World’, and the UK Top Ten single ‘How Come/Git Up’, D12 were performing at the world-renowned Brixton Academy to a full house.

Fans were warmed up with DJs playing classic hits from the past right through to the present and were entertained by supporting acts such as a Californian hip-hop/rock band and a London-based female Garage MC. The crowd were then teased with more music from members of the Shady/Aftermath label, with hit music from 50 Cent, G-Unit, and Dr. Dre, and classics by Snoop Dogg and 2Pac.

It was around 9.30pm when Kon Artis came onto the stage to a roar of applause. As the DJ dropped ‘Sh*t Can Happen’, the opening track to their debut album ‘Devils Night’, everyone in the stalls arose. Members Swifty, Kon Artis and Proof then followed out onto the stage to tracks like ‘Pistol Pistol’, and last but not least, Bizarre appeared, wearing his trademark shower cap on ‘Just Like U’, complete with a fluorescent pink fur coat with leopard skin collars.

D12 also performed other tracks, including the hot singles ‘Fight Music’ and ‘My Band’, ‘Pimp Like Me’, ‘American Psycho II’, ‘Git My Gun’, which was performed for the first time, and the group’s next single, ‘U R The One’. Fans could be heard singing “like a church choir”, as Proof put it, on songs such as ‘How Come’, as well as helping D12 “pray” by singing an alternative version of ‘Kum By Yah’, the popular church song.

Proof told the crowd that all members of D12 liked to drink apart from Bizarre, who was challenged to drink a whole bottle of alcohol if the fans made enough noise. Two minutes later, and Bizarre would inevitably be doing so, as he led into the track ‘40 Oz’. When Bizarre disappeared backstage, Proof informed the crowd that he was “poppin’ pills and smoking weed”. Asking the eager audience whether they wanted to join in, he launched into the famous ‘Purple Pills’ single as Bizarre emerged topless to join the other members.

Towards the end of their set, Swifty complained that alcohol had been thrown on him and declared that D12 were leaving the building. Luckily, Swifty was only kidding, and the group came out once more to do the encore with their debut single, singing “I’ll ‘Sh*t On You” to the hyped audience.

Overall, it was a good performance by D12, which left many fans forgetting that Eminem is also a member of this group. His absence was the only slight disappointment about the concert. Whether this was intentional or not, D12 are set to rise to global stardom, and with individual solo projects in the works, as well as a couple of films and an appearance in a future Adam Sandler film, D12 are on course to becoming households names alongside Eminem.

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