The Dirty Dozen have been slept on, as most simply pass them off as nothing more than eager Eminem’s sidekicks. People have either forgot, or are unaware, of the fact that all of D12′s members were doing their thing before Em’s commercial success. Using the most popular promotion tool of the moment, the crew hits the streets with a mix tape to get a lot things off their chest.

“Smackdown” blasts off, taking mucho shots at Royce Da 5’9 over 50 Cent’s “Backdown” track (which Royce ironically flipped himself for a D-12 diss track on his double-CD Build & Destroy). Pulling his card, bringing up tales of personal beat downs and fake claims, each member gets at the self proclaimed “King of Detroit.”  Bizarre spits “is it our fault you’re a fake LL, D-12 the reason your little record won’t sell.” “Been A Hoe” comically flips Nappy Roots’ “Po Folks,” as Bizzare once again goes out of his mind, conjuring up thoughts that make you realize therapy is long overdue. Who else do you know that’s bragging about “fucking a titty dancer with breast cancer” and making sexual advances like “damnit girl you look fine, I don’t give a fuck if you’re nine, like R. Kelly I wanna bump and grind.” “Talk Too Much” flips TLC’s “Girl Talk” as Swifty brings the heat to all snitches and shit talkers. With the venomous “Kick The Door In” D-12 goes into full attack mode, as they aim vicious promises and death threats in Royce and D-Elite’s direction—”You fuck with Dirty Dozen/we be killin who you love.” Then, “Wrong,” another highlight, has them flipping over Freeway’s “What We Do.” Benzino is the target this time and gets smashed to pieces, “so die another day because you know it’s entertainment/I’ll stuff your out of shape pale face into the pavement.” It doesn’t end there though, as they bring up obvious and personal facts like “you can’t even write raps/your damn near 50 years old/your daddy’s on his death bed/you’re never gonna go gold/it’s best if you just shut it up.”

With this mix tape release, beyond all the unnecessary posturing and death threats, D-12 proves once and for all they are skilled and do not need Em to make noise. Unlike most crews who have the one star member, Dirty Dozen is a powerful squad where each member adds to their strength.