Bizarre Of D12 Talks Political Correctness, Proof, In Exclusive ‘Inquisitr’ Interview

Update: Bizarre has released the music video to his newest song, ‘Muscle Man.’ The video can be seen below.

Music has a history of letting people be outlandish and creative, allowing them to say things on the microphone you’d never hear them say in person, whether it’s promoting violence against the police or bragging about having a sex party with models from Sports Illustrated, hip-hop truly brings a sense of individualism to whoever enters the studio and starts reading off the sheet in front of them.

Bizarre of the rap group D12, however, has handled the outlandish opportunities that hip-hop gives him in an entirely different way. From claiming that he had to get his pit bull an abortion, joining Mr. Furley of Three’s Company in having sex with two girls, or how the government would be unable to find him even after locating Saddam Hussein, the 40-year-old rapper brought a sense of insanity and humor to songs that no other member of the Dirty Dozen could match. Even Eminem’s dark, murderous humor that came from his Slim Shady persona was nothing compared to the things Bizarre would say about incest or murder on a Dr. Dre-produced track.

Born Rufus Johnson in July of 1976, Bizarre was one of the original five members of D12, joining DeShaun “Proof” Holton, Carnail “Bugz” Pitts, Von “Kuniva” Carlisle, and the only white man in the group: Marshall “Eminem” Mathers. The following year, Denaun “Kon Artis” Porter joined as a producer, and the group also added Ondre “Swifty McVay” Moore after Bugz’s murder in 1999. Two years later and following back-to-back bestselling albums from Eminem, D12 released their first album, Devil’s Night, wowing listeners with a perfect combination of lyricism and chemistry on the tracks.

Now, 15 years later, D12 is prepping for their first album release since 2004’s D12 World, and Bizarre, as always, is set to bring his unique lyricism to the table. Today, Bizarre joins the Inquisitr to briefly talk collaborations, rap wars, and the late Proof.

The Inquisitr: We’re 15 years since D12 first dropped Devil’s Night. What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in yourself as an artist in that time?

Bizarre: “The biggest change is I guess being more mature. I’m putting better work in the studio and have a better work ethic, and just being a veteran and being able to school younger rappers.”

IQ: I think the first time most people would have heard you would have been on the first Mathers [The Marshall Mathers LP] where you’re talking about “f**king your cousin in his a**hole, slitting your mother’s throat, getting your pitbull an abortion.” We live in such a PC culture now that I have to ask: If you guys were coming up now, do you think it’d have been harder for a record label to take on rappers who are so blunt?

Bizarre: “I don’t know, honestly. That’s a really good question.”

IQ: The reason why I ask is because Em, and even you guys with Devil’s Night, used to joke around with the skits featuring [his manager] Paul and [Interscope Records Executive Steve Berman] about him needing to tone it down, how Em was going so over the top.

Bizarre: “Right. Yeah, that’s a really tough question.”

IQ: I think when D12 as a whole gets mentioned, the rap wars that you guys were involved in — with Benzino, Ja Rule, and even with Royce da 5’9? for a few years — immediately come to mind. Looking back all these years later and then looking at what beefs are now (with the exception of whatever Meek Mill gets into) where it’s really just social media, do you think these beefs just dying down after a few days is better for the industry?

Bizarre: “Yeah, I think it’s better. There’s no physical violence so definitely.”

IQ: Speaking of physical violence, you rapped on one of your songs (“Hip Hop“) that you don’t know how to use a gun. Is there a part of you that wishes more rappers would be honest about things like guns and gang affiliation instead of making things up for their reputation?

Bizarre: “Yeah, I mean everybody wants to be a gangster, you know what I’m saying? But, speaking from the heart is always better. Some things you are and some things you’re not.”

IQ: Can you talk to us a bit about the “D.A.R.E Tour”?

Bizarre: “It’s just a little run that my boy WIL E HAZE has been putting together. We’re going to be doing a couple things soon and I think the Muscle Man Tour is going to start next year. The D.A.R.E Tour is going to probably be around Christmas.”

IQ: Is the Muscle Man tour with D12 or is that going to be a solo tour?

Bizarre: “Yeah, some of it will be with D12 and some of it will be solo.”

IQ: You had mentioned earlier that you wanted to school other artists — and I know that both Swifty and Kuniva do the same where they have booking emails in their social media bios — so at what point did you say to yourself that it’d be a good idea to start collaborating with younger, lesser-known artists?

Bizarre: “That’s always been my big thing from the beginning, you know what I’m saying? I know how hard it was for me to get and make it, to get on and I just feel like it’s only right for me to go back and help other artists. It’s almost like passing the torch like you’ve found the path and it’s time to let somebody else find the path. That’s been my rules since day one.”

IQ: I know earlier on, I mentioned Devil’s Night and this spring obviously marked ten years since Proof passed away. If he saw the hip-hop industry right now, what do you think he’d say about it?

Bizarre: “He probably wouldn’t like it; he’s more of a freestyle, raw hip hop battle type guy but I don’t know. Proof was a pretty smart guy and he kind of moved with the times so he probably would be dancing and partying, having fun. He definitely wasn’t a ‘party pooper’ but I think he probably wouldn’t like it because there’s less lyricism but the partying part, he’d like.”

IQ: I know that you’re a big Lions fan, and recently we’ve seen a lot of athletes come out and protesting the national anthem. If you were going to talk to any of the Lions players or really anyone about the anthem, what would you tell them? Would you be in favor of it?

Bizarre: “I mean, I’m cool with people taking a kneel; I feel like they have a right to do that. We as athletes, rappers, entertainers have a voice so maybe it will be a domino effect. Maybe the cops will stop killing people.”

IQ: I hope so. If you had to give any advice for our readers in one to two sentences, what would it be?

Bizarre: “Never give up on your dream and success is not luck, it’s planned.”

Bizarre can be followed on Twitter and on Instagram at @BizarresWorld. We at the Inquisitr thank Bizarre for his time and will keep you updated on both his upcoming projects and D12’s soon-to-be-released album.

[Featured Image by Carlos Osorio/AP Images]