There was something undeniably wholesome about Eminem and Pro’s brotherhood, a friendship built on mutual respect, trust, and unapologetic antics.
The details surrounding the early years Eminem and Pro‘s friendship are best left unpacked through the music itself. Songs like “Groundhog Day,” released as a bonus track on The Marshall Mathers LP 2, paint a picture their dynamic; two young aspiring emcees eager to show f their new music, gauging each other’s improvements and providing constructive criticism as equals. “I remember Pro would visit, couldn’t wait to play him my new shit, he’d go cuckoo ballistic,” rapped Em, lost on memory lane’s scenic route. “Go through the ro for his shit / It’s like we knew the instant we touched a mic that both us two existed to do this shit.”
During his recent appearance on Mike Tyson’s Hotboxin’ podcast, Eminem opened up about the role Pro played in sparking his hunger for battle. “We came up rapping together but he would kind go do his own thing,” explains Em. “I’d be working at factories and Pro was out there on the grind and he started making connections and then he met J Dilla from Slum Village and a lot the early Detroit hip-hop that was exploding onto the scene.” At Pro’s insistence, Eminem tried his luck at the Hip-Hop Shop, where he was tasked with winning over an audience ten.
It didn’t take long for Em to acclimate himself, and before long he was a mainstay in the Hip-Hop shop battle circuit. Due to Pro’s practice deciding the match-up’s by way a random draw, Em even found himself going up against Kuniva, who would later become his D12 groupmate. As Von quickly found out, Em was well deserving his reputation as a formidable battler. One has to wonder, would Slim Shady have come to such a conclusion without the confident co-sign Big Pro?
Despite the fact that Em and Pro are among hip-hop’s storied bromances, they never really connected for a fleshed-out collaboration on wax. That’s not to discredit the expansive catalog D12, which found Em and Pro sharing the stage on no shortage tracks, but rather to lament the absence a Bad Meets Evil style duet. For the most part, the lone times they connected as a partnership was strict to kick freestyles. Excluding the extensive and highly amusing nineteen-minute epic that is “I’m Rockin Babe,” a song that might very well be one Eminem and Pro’s first pieces recorded music.
Things would only go up from there, and their sharpening skills ultimately paved the way for equally well-honed freestyles. A classic video recorded on March 13th, 1999, a few weeks removed from the release The Slim Shady LP, found Em and Pro gleefully trading bars f the top the dome; a testament to not only their comfort as friends, but as creatives. “We all up in your sight like cataracts,” spits Pro. “Me and Em tag-team, beat any ya’ll on some battle rap.”
It would be altogether irresponsible to overlook what might very well be their crowning achievement, the seven-plus minute freestyle known as “Just Rhymin’ With Pro.” Originally released as a B-side on the “Quitter” single release in 2000, this masterclass in f-the-dome back and forth freestyling finds both parties deftly toeing the line between outlandish lyricism and genuinely solid rhyme schemes. Based on the sample size recorded freestyles, Em and Pro are seldom in a serious state, seeming to spur one another into fits giddy laughter and mutual appreciation for a clever line. The trend continues within D12’s classic half-hour freestyle on Tim Westwood, a cypher that once again finds Em and Pro rhyming as equals — though never missing an opportunity to crack a joke. “Hey ‘Em, your nuts are large as hell,” spits Pro, only for Em to close the scheme with “thanks, I was in the garage and fell.”
Away from the mic, their friendship becomes evident in the remaining pieces behind-the-scenes D12 footage circulating the internet. One particularly enlightening snapshot arrived during the creation Tony Touch’s “Get Back,” which found Em, Pro, and Bizarre laying down verses in the studio. In the clip, Em can be seen laughing at Pro’s inability to record a specific line, going so far as to mercilessly troll his inadvertently melodic delivery. “Y’all slipped something into my weed, or something,” remarks a flabbergasted Pro, prompting further laughter from his D12 compatriots. In fact, examining a few old school D12 interviews reveals the importance comedy within their inner circle; the camaraderie was seemingly built around laughter. With Pro being acknowledged as the unficial general, it’s clear he played a pivotal role in keeping the morale high. It’s no wonder that his passing all but spelled the end the Dirty Dozen — at the very least, Eminem’s involvement within it.
Fourteen years removed from Pro’s death, his spirit continues to live on. Not only through his music, which includes his solo debut Searchin’ For Jerry Garcia and contributions to two D12 studio albums, but through Eminem’s as well. Songs like the tragic “Difficult” and the triumphant “You’re Never Over” paint two different pictures the complexities grief, highlighting the lowest points loss and the valuable lessons learned through life. It’s not entirely fair to say there would be no Eminem without Pro, but perhaps there would be no Eminem as we have come to know him. Take a moment to reflect on one hip-hop’s great friendships, and show some love to Big Pro. Rest in peace.
