Featuring Big Proof: Grown Man Sh*t
Inside a newly built recording studio nestled in the suburban hinterlands of his native Detroit, multi-platinum-selling rap star PROOF fusses over a desktop computer containing snippets from his upcoming debut solo album, “Searching 4 Jerry Garcia”. Pointing and clicking furiously, the lanky MC glances back and forth from the monitor to the friends who have arrived to listen to tracks from his newest musical offering. He frowns at the screen, then grins an apology to his audience. “I got love for ya, you know I do,” he says, turning back to the Macintosh, “but I need to make sure this sounds right. You know me. I can’t let you hear it if it doesn’t sound right.” PROOF refuses to take his work lightly, even in the confines of his own studio, even among the staff and supporters who’ve cheered his long climb to rap super stardom. He won’t showcase any less than his best, not even in a leisurely sitting. A decade and a half since the member of the hit group D-12 began his ascent into the spotlight, PROOF figures he still has plenty to… well… prove. “I want to show that you can talk about more than one thing in hip-hop. Rapping about cars and your Rolex is played out,” says the MC. “You can be different and still be successful.” For this, he stands as living PROOF. Collaborating with D12’s DJ, Salam Wreck, Proof rips though track after track produced by some of the top Beat-smiths in the game. Producers Eminem, Mr. Porter, Reef, Sicknotes, and Salam Wreck himself, all lend Proof a helping hand with the production. “This mixtape really shows a more serious and dark-side of Proof then what people will hear on the upcoming “Searching 4 Jerry Garcia” album, which is due to hit streets this summer,” remarks DJ Salam Wreck while planted in front SSL 8000G at FBT Studios. Being the guide through this tour, Salam scratches, mixes and manipulates the music from start to finish.