Today, June 5, is Detroit rapper Bizarre's 42nd birthday!

Bizzare, born Rufus Arthur Johnson, broke his way into the rap scene with the other founding members of Dirty Dozen—commonly known as D12— in the mid 90s. Among them were Eminem, Kuniva, Kon Artis, Bugz—who was murdered in 1999— and the mastermind behind it all, the late Proof. Their druggy, slightly sadistic rap lyrics struck a chord with rap fans nationwide, securing their worldwide fan base with tracks like “Purple Pills” “Fight Music” and “Ain’t Nuttin but Music” off their debut album, Devil’s Night.

In 2004, D12 released D12 World, their sophomore LP which spawned their biggest single, “My Band.” The track broke the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10, peaking at No. 6 in May of that year. Both Devil’s Night and D12 World peaked at No. 1 in their respective years. Shortly after some members, including Bizarre, decided to work on solo projects. The self-proclaimed weirdo released his debut album, Hannicap Circus, in 2005. The project, which brought Bizarre’s uncanny, animated bars to the forefront, shot to No. 48 on the Billboard 200, proving the often shirtless rapper can hold his own solo.

D12 took a hiatus after Proof was fatally shot in 2006. “We been making sure his wife and family are straight. We just miss him, man. He was our leader,” Bizarre told XXL in 2007. “It’s a struggle everyday, man. We miss our homeboy and that’s never going to change. I’ll just say we deal with it, but I’m not gonna say it’s not hard.” Bizarre disbanded from D12 in 2012, while other rappers have either joined or departed over the past two decades.

These days, Bizarre and fellow hometown MC King Gordy are releasing projects under the name L.A.R.S., or Last American Rock stars. Originally formed in 2008, the "Lit" rappers released the duo’s eponymous debut album in February 2018 after dropping their Foul World mixtape in 2017.

Happy Birthday, Bizarre!

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