Shola Lee
It's Eminem's 50th birthday, and as tributes pour in for the rap icon, some are noticing a pretty eerie prediction he made about his childhood friend's death.
The fellow rapper was a close friend of Slim Shady's and even gave a best man's speech at his wedding.
For those not familiar, Eminem's best mate Proof, whose real name is Deshaun Holton, was shot dead at the 3C nightclub in Detroit on 11 April 2006.
Advert
Proof and Eminem go way back, from the early days of their music careers in Detroit to performing as part of D12, and even going on to appear in the hit biopic 8 Mile together.
The pair often worked together, and the summer before his death, Proof told Rolling Stone: "Me and Eminem have wonderful chemistry, and we have wonderful songs."
However, the pair would be ripped apart sooner than anyone expected and in an eerie case of life imitating art, Proof died two years after Eminem released a song depicting his death.
In 2004, Marshall Mathers released 'Like Toy Soldiers,' a song that condemned violence in the rap industry.
Advert
The song sees a heartbroken Eminem watch on as doctors frantically try to resuscitate Proof who's sustained a gunshot wound to the chest.
Eminem said following his death: "Right now, there's a lot of people focusing on the way he died.
"I want to remember the way he lived. Proof was funny, he was smart, he was charming. He inspired everyone around him. He can never, ever be replaced. He was, and always will be, my best friend."
Eminem wasn't the only one to make a strange premonition about Proof's death – Proof own song 'No T. Lose' from his 2005 album Searching For Jerry Garcia hinted at a similar fate.
Advert
"Brokenhearted, my soul’s like an open target/And I’m ready to leave Earth, you step to my death next year on my T-shirt," Proof raps.
While these references to the talented singer's untimely death seem spooky, Philadelphia-based author, Mister Mann Frisby, said that Proof's death conveyed a wider problem in the US.
"Proof’s death is an example of the violence claiming the lives of a lot of young black men all over America, not just rappers.
"For every rapper who gets shot and killed, there are 300 nameless young black men who die the same way," he added.
Advert
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677