Eminem [ tickets ], in a statement issued Thursday (4/13), praised slain rapper Proof [ tickets ] as a friend, a father and as an intregal part of the Detroit hip-hop scene.

"You don't know where to begin when you lose somebody who's been such a big part of your life for so long," said the statement, which is posted on Eminem's website.

"Proof and I were brothers. He pushed me to become who I am," the statement continued. "Without Proof's guidance and encouragement there would have been a Marshall Mathers, but probably not an Eminem and certainly never a Slim Shady. Not a day will go by without his spirit and influence around us all. He will be missed as a friend, father and both the heart and ambassador of Detroit hip-hop.

"Right now, there's a lot of people focusing on the way he died. I want to remember the way he lived. Proof was funny, he was smart, he was charming. He inspired everyone around him. He can never, ever be replaced. He was, and always will be, my best friend."

D12 [ tickets ] rapper Proof, whose real name was Deshaun Holton, 32, was shot and killed early Tuesday morning (4/11). Witnesses reportedly told Detroit police investigators that Proof pistol-whipped and shot a man before he was slain.

On Thursday, a lawyer for Proof told the Detroit Free Press that Proof didn't shoot first.

"To indicate that Proof pulled the trigger first is reckless and quite frankly it will be proved to be untrue," attorney David Gorosh reportedly told the newspaper.