Vibe.com, April 14th, 2006
"You don't know where to begin when you lose somebody who's been such a big part of your life for so long. Proof and I were brothers," Eminem said in a statement to MTV.com. "He pushed me to become who I am. Without Proof's guidance and encouragement there would have been a Marshall Mathers, but probably not an Eminem and certainly never a Slim Shady.
“Not a day will go by without his spirit and influence around us all. He will be missed as a friend, father and both the heart and ambassador of Detroit hip hop."
Eminem, who named Proof Best Man to his short-lived wedding to Kim Mathers, says he’ll choose to celebrate his best friend’s life, instead of centering on how it ended.
"Right now, there's a lot of people focusing on the way he died. I want to remember the way he lived,” Em said. “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."
On Wednesday, suspect Mario Etheridge, a Detroit bouncer and confirmed cousin of Keith Bender Jr., the man that Proof allegedly shot first in the incident outside Detroit's C.C.C. club Tuesday morning, turned himself into police custody.
Detroit Police Sgt. Eren Stephens told the Detroit Free Press that if Proof was found to be shot by someone trying to protect himself or another, the shooter won't be charged.
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