Eminem's Best Man Shot Dead

Police in Detroit were searching for a gunman yesterday after a prominent rapper who served as Eminem's best man was shot dead at a nightclub in the early hours.

Proof, whose real name was Deshaun Holton, was killed at the CCC Club on Eight Mile Road, the dividing line between Detroit's inner-city neighbourhoods and its wealthier suburbs and the setting for Eminem's 2002 movie, 8 Mile. "There was an altercation and shots rang out," a police spokeswoman, Yvette Walker, told reporters. Another man remained in the St John Holy Cross hospital in a critical condition.

Proof was a prominent member of the Detroit hiphop collective D12, from which Eminem emerged to become the second bestselling rap artist in history after Tupac Shakur. In January he was the best man at Eminem's remarriage to Kimberly Scott, whom he divorced in 2001. It has since been reported that the couple are divorcing for a second time.

A spokesman for Interscope, D12's label, denied rumours circulating on local rap websites that the other victim was Bizarre, another member of the group. As for Proof, the publicist Dennis Dennehy said: "Memorial service arrangements are still being made, and his friends and family would appreciate privacy during this difficult time."