On 19 June 2001, a label that barely existed on paper put out its first record and went straight to number one. Shady Records was two years old at the time and mostly a promise: Eminem, the biggest rapper on the planet, had built a stage for six buddies from Detroit. The record was called Devil’s Night, the group was called D12, and it moved roughly 371,881 copies in its first week.

Today, 25 years to the day later, D12 release “D12 Forever (Vol. 1)”, their first studio album in 22 years. A date too clean to be coincidence, even if the group never spells it out anywhere.

Six Guys, One Album, Two Weeks at the Top

D12 stood for “The Dirty Dozen”, even if only six men worked the mic: Eminem, Proof, Bizarre, Mr. Porter, Kuniva and Swifty McVay. Devil’s Night was their debut and the very first full-length on Shady Records. It entered the Billboard 200 at number one, slipped briefly, then climbed back to the top in its third week – with about 173,956 units sold, a margin of just 306 copies over Alicia Keys’ “Songs in A Minor”. In the UK it reached number two.

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The whole thing rode on singles that played on radio and hit in the clubs: “Shit on You”, the Eminem-produced “Purple Pills”, “Fight Music”, “Ain’t Nuttin’ but Music”. In the US the album went double platinum, in Canada triple. The critics were split, the public wasn’t. Devil’s Night was the sound of a crew that knew the door had just been kicked wide open for them.

What Came In Between

2004 brought “D12 World”, the second studio album. Then the floor gave way. On 11 April 2006, Proof – the man who had held the group together – was shot dead in Detroit. D12 was never the same band again. Two self-released mixtapes under the title “Return of the Dozen” (2008 and 2011) kept the name alive, but a proper album never came. For 22 years.

That gap is what makes “D12 Forever (Vol. 1)” more than a footnote. It is only the group’s third studio album, full stop. It is carried by Kuniva and Swifty McVay, the two who stayed. “We’re stepping into a new chapter with D12 Forever”, Kuniva told the magazine V13. “There’s a lot of history behind this name, and a lot of growth that’s carried us to this moment.” And, with a wink: “It’s raw, it’s real, and yeah…some of it might surprise you.”

One thing is worth saying up front, before the expectation runs the wrong way: Eminem is nowhere to be heard on the album. No verse, no feature. Anyone hoping for a Shady reunion in the old style is looking in the wrong place.

The Verse That Remains

The heart of the record sits at track four. “Proof & Eli” places a previously unreleased Proof verse alongside Eli Ble$$ed – Proof’s son. Twenty years after the founder’s death, his voice is back on a D12 album, this time next to his own child. You can’t get more of a bridge between then and now than that.

Around it, the group has assembled a guest list that runs clear across state lines. The lead single “Tear It Down” dropped on 24 April and pulled in Xzibit and B-Real from the West Coast. Across the remaining 15 tracks you’ll find Method Man, Tech N9ne, George Clinton, Ice-T, King Iso, Sly Pyper and Melanie Rutherford. That’s not a stopgap cast, that’s a line-up.

The Party Happens on the Island

The soundtrack to the anniversary is a small UK tour that carries the date in its very title. On release day D12 play the Albert Hall in Manchester, on 20 June the O2 Forum Kentish Town in London, on 21 June the O2 Academy in Bristol. Joining them: Onyx out of New York and Treach of Naughty by Nature. German or continental European dates are not on the calendar so far.

What’s left is the look back at an album that, 25 years ago, proved a crew from Detroit could be more than the opening act for its most famous member. Devil’s Night turned six names into a brand. “D12 Forever” carries that brand onward, with two remaining voices, a dozen guests and a verse from Proof that belongs exactly where it is. Twelve became two. What stayed is still an album.