Eminem and Shady Records pay homage to Big Proof

By: Yves Erwin Salomon

Eminem and Shady Records pay homage to Proof by launching the BigProof4Ever.com website. MTV.com reports that all the proceeds from articles sold on the site will benefit the Big Proof Forever Foundation, an organization that benefits the slain rapper's five children.

The site includes T-shirts and a poster bearing Proof's likeness and the words "Big Proof Forever 1973-2006," which was designed by graphic artist Shepard Fairey, who started the anti-authority Obey Giant campaign in the 1980s.

Proof, whose real name is DeShaun Holton, was shot and killed at a Detroit nightclub in April. According to reports, the rapper, who died with a blood-alcohol level of 0.32 percent, allegedly pistol-whipped Jonathon Bender before shooting the bouncer in the face. The rapper was in turn shot and killed by Bender's cousin Mario Etheridge, who was also working as a bouncer at the nightclub. Etheridge allegedly fired twice in the air before shooting the rapper.

Etheridge was later cleared of wrongdoing.