D12 Doesn't Mind Being Seen As Eminem's Group (6/21/01, 3 p.m. ET) -- Just out is Devil's Night, the highly anticipated album from D12, the Detroit rap collective that features solo superstar Eminem (news - web sites), who executive produced the album. The group's critics--at least those who aren't attacking its songs about violence, sex, and drugs--are using Eminem's involvement to discount the contributions of the group's other five members. But MC Proof (Deshaun Holton), who co-founded the band a decade ago, tells LAUNCH that D12 sees nothing but advantages to Eminem's stature. Some people look at us, like, 'This is gonna be Eminem's group. You're gonna be in his shadow.' They don't realize how positive and great that is to hear," he said. "If we're in the shadow of a guy that can almost sell 10 million records in just the States alone, great! That's not a dis to us. But when they hear the album, they'll hear the individuality of each person, how everybody hold their own." D12 will perform on the Vans Warped tour this summer before heading out on its own tour in the fall. You can catch the group's video, "Purple Hills," on-demand on LAUNCH.com. -- Gary Graff, Detroit Eminem's Crew Has Familiar Message: Don't Take Us Literally By Teri Van Horn Like Eminem (news - web sites)'s last two solo albums, the debut LP from his hometown crew, D12, opens with a public service announcement. But this time, the announcer suggests that anyone offended by words like "bitch" and "faggot" should turn off their stereos immediately. "We want people to know what the f--- they gonna hear for the next hour," D12's Bizarre said, speaking from the group's home base of Detroit last week. "It's our own ghetto public service announcement." The sextet asks those who keep listening to Devils Night, due Tuesday, not to draw conclusions from what they hear — a request that will sound awfully familiar to Eminem fans. "I say that I'm picking up transvestites on my Harley-Davidson in one of my raps," Bizarre said. "There's no barriers. You can't say that we're faggot bashers, you can't say that we like gays, you can't say nothing about us, 'cause we're not scared to trip on any subject. How can we hate fags with Bizarre saying sh-- like that? It's all in fun, and that's how it should be." But Bizarre said the album is not without realistic portraits, pointing, of all songs, to "American Psycho," on which he and Eminem trade rhymes that bring listeners "into the mind of a psychopath killer," complete with lyrics about eating a human fetus. "It's not really to shock. Shock-rap, to me, is just saying anything to get people's attention," Bizarre said. "Our minds are just warped like that. We just tell how we feel, and basically the sh-- that we talk about is going on in real life. It's just the type of sh-- you don't talk about. It might be sick, like some Stephen King horror sh--, but it's reality. I'm just trying to be a narrator and tell a story." Devils Night — which includes the single "Purple Pills," a.k.a. "Purple Hills" — features production work by Eminem, Dr. Dre, DJ Head and D12 member Kon Artis. The group recorded the album in fits and starts during breaks in Eminem's touring schedule. "Basically, Eminem is a workaholic, so he's going to be at the studio a couple hours before we get there and 10 hours after we leave," Bizarre said. "We all come up with ideas, but mostly he comes up with ideas." On the Dre-produced "Ain't Nuttin But Music" — whose beat deviates only a hair from that of "The Real Slim Shady" — Eminem takes aim at his usual targets (Christina, Britney, Everlast, etc.) while his crew extends the bash list to include Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, Jesse Jackson, Baha Men and George Michael. The album-closing track "Girls" finds Eminem dishing out wicked words for former friend Fred Durst — who just happens to be a vice president at Em's label, Interscope — and Limp Bizkit's DJ Lethal (see). Though D12 — whose lineup also includes Proof, Kuniva and Swift — formed back in 1994, it's taken this long for them to put out an album. The MCs made a pact, agreeing that whoever got signed first would come back for the rest of the group. "Basically, Eminem was just so busy," Bizarre said, adding that he never doubted the album would happen eventually. "Em is kind of a loner — he doesn't have many friends, so he basically just kept us around him during his whole career. We just had to wait our turn and be patient — that's what he told us to do." Bizarre said the group plans to put out one album per year from now on. D12 will get started on Devils Night's follow-up in Eminem's home studio this week, and the group will continue plugging away on it in between tour breaks and work on Em's next solo album, he said. "Everybody's serious and committed. I think this album really made us mature. Rapping's a job. In order to eat, you can't just quit your job." With Eminem popping in on select dates, D12 will make a run on the Warped Tour beginning late next month. The group will head overseas in late August. D12 & Eminem Celebrate Album Release In New York (6/20/01, 3 p.m. ET) -- DJ Premier, Rah Digga, Xzibit, Angie Martinez, Nikka Costa, Masta Ace, and the Outsidaz were among the celebrities in attendance at Eminem (news - web sites)'s group D12's Devil's Night New York album release party Tuesday (June 19), the day the record hit the stores. At 12:30 a.m., the group performed a 20-minute set, including several Devil's Night songs such as "Sh-t Can Happen," "Pistol Pistol," "Pimp Like Me," and the album's first single "Purple Hills." Before performing "Purple Hills," Eminem asked, "New York, we want to know how many mother f--kers pop pills?...And don't even give a f--k what kind of pills they are. They just take them?" The Detroit-based group is expected to debut at Number One on the Billboard 200 albums chart next week. "Purple Hills" entered Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart last week at Number 45.