Rufus Arthur Johnson (born July 5, 1976), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Bizarre, is an American rapper, best known for his work with the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

-based hip hop group

D12 D12 (an initialism for The Dirty Dozen) was an American hip hop collective from Detroit, Michigan. Formed in 1996, the group achieved mainstream success with its lineup of ''de facto'' leader Eminem, Proof, Bizarre, Mr. Porter, Kuniva and Swift ...

Early life

Bizarre was born Rufus Arthur Johnson on July 5, 1976 in

, Michigan. Bizarre grew up living with his single mother. He started rapping when he was in fifth grade. His teacher thought he was talking to himself, and began calling him 'Bizarre'. In 1995, he joined the rap group

with neighborhood friends DeShaun " Proof" Holton, Karnail "Bugz" Pitts, Carlos "Fuzz Scoota" Rabb, Willie "Eye Kyu" Drake, and Von "Kuniva" Carlisle. He also met Marshall "

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

" Mathers through Proof. Bizarre used to attend a club on Friday nights called 'The Shelter' in

Saint Andrew's Hall The Saint Andrew's Hall is a concert venue located in Detroit, Michigan. Formerly the meeting place for the Saint Andrew's Society of Detroit. The Shelter lies underneath St. Andrews Hall and hosts various live music acts and DJs. It is best kn ...

, where

rap battle Battle rap (also known as rap battling)Edwards, Paul, 2009, p. 25. is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults and wordplay. Battle rap is often performed or freestyled spontaneously in live ...

s were held.

Career

1990s and 2000s

He was then featured on D12's first EP in 1997 titled ''The Underground EP''. On the EP Bizarre recorded songs with D12 members Proof, Eye Kyu, Bugz, Eminem, Kuniva, & Mr Porter, before going on to release his debut solo EP titled ''

Attack of the Weirdos ''Attack of the Weirdos'' is the debut extended play by Detroit rapper and D12 member Bizarre. It was released on September 1, 1998 via Federation Records. Audio production of the seven track album was handled by local Detroit deejays and produc ...

'' in 1997. In 2001, D12 released their debut album, ''

Devil's Night Devil's Night is a name associated with October 30, the night before Halloween. It is related to the "Mischief Night" practiced in parts of the United States such as Philadelphia but is chiefly associated with the serious vandalism and arson seen ...

''. In 2004, he was a part of the second studio album of D12 titled ''

D12 World ''D12 World'' is the second and final studio album by Detroit hip hop group D12, released on April 27, 2004. The album sold 544,000 copies in its first week on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album is also the last D12 release to feature Proof befo ...

''. Bizarre then released his first official studio album in 2005 titled ''

Hannicap Circus ''Hannicap Circus'' is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Bizarre. It was released on June 28, 2005 via Sanctuary Urban. Production was handled by several record producers, including Hi-Tek, Mr. Porter, Eminem and Erick Sermon. It f ...

'' through his own label Redhead Records, which received mixed reviews. He also appeared on the 2006 Shady Records compilation album '' Eminem Presents: The Re-Up'', on the track "Murder" along with D12 member, Kuniva. Following the death of rapper Proof in April 2006, he and the rest of D12 became inactive for some time. In 2007, Bizarre released his second studio album called ''

Blue Cheese & Coney Island ''Blue Cheese & Coney Island'' is the second solo studio album by American rapper Bizarre. It was released on October 9, 2007 via Koch Records. Production was handled by DubMuzik, Kidd, Rencen, Silent Riot, A Piece of Strange, Alphabet, Jake Bas ...

''. In 2008, Bizarre and D12 recorded their first official mixtape titled ''Return of the Dozen''. A sequel titled ''Return of the Dozen Vol. 2'' followed in 2011.

2010-present

In 2010, Bizarre released his third studio album on

Average Joes Entertainment Average Joes Entertainment Group is an American record label specializing in alternative country, country rap and country music. The label was founded in 2008 by country rap artist Jason "Colt Ford" Brown and producer Shannon Houchins. Ford has r ...

, titled ''

Friday Night at St. Andrews ''Friday Night at St. Andrews'' (originally named ''Live from St. Andrews'') is the third solo studio album by American rapper Bizarre (rapper), Bizarre. It was released on May 18, 2010 through Average Joes Entertainment, AVJ Records. Hip hop produ ...

''. The album is more reality-based on actual situations throughout Bizarre's early life and career, thus the album is more

conscious Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

than his previous releases. The album features guest appearances from Seven the General,

Royce da 5'9" Ryan Daniel Montgomery, known professionally as Royce da 5'9" (or simply Royce 5'9"), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Montgomery is currently one half of the rap duo Bad Meets Evil with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem, and ...

, Tech N9ne,

Yelawolf Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee, he embarked on his career independently in 2005, releasing one extended play (EP) and four mixta ...

, Kuniva, and more. The first single released was "Believer" with Tech N9ne & Nate Walker. The second official single for the album was "Rap's Finest" featuring Kuniva, Seven the General, Royce da 5'9" & Redman. However, for unexplained reasons, Redman would not appear on the album version of the single or the video. Bizarre, along with

King Gordy Waverly Walter Alford III (born August 18, 1977), known professionally by his stage name King Gordy, is an American horrorcore singer/rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He is one-fourth of underground hip hop group the Fat Killahz (with Fatt Father ...

, formed a hip hop duo called The Davidians. The Davidians were featured on

Esham Esham is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. Esham released his debut studio album, '' Boomin' Words from Hell'', in 1989. Since then, he has gone on to release 15 studio albums in total and is best known as a representative of the hip ...

's mixtape, ''

The Butcher Shop ''The Butcher Shop'' is the first mixtape presented by rapper Esham. Released in 2008, the album contains tracks from Detroit rappers such as Big Herk, L.A.R.S., Insane Clown Posse, Royce da 5'9" and Trick Trick. The album also features the entire ...

''. The duo is currently signed to

Majik Ninja Entertainment Twiztid is an American hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan, known for both their horror-themed lyrics and rock influenced sound. Formed in 1997, Twiztid is composed of rappers Jamie "Madrox" Spaniolo and Paul "Monoxide" Methric. Spaniolo and ...

under the name

Last American Rock Stars ''Last American Rock Stars'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo L.A.R.S., which consists of Detroit-based rappers Bizarre (of D12) and King Gordy (of the Fat Killahz). It was released on February 16, 2018, through Majik Ninja Enter ...

. Bizarre was featured in

Snowgoons History Snowgoons is a German underground hip hop production team composed of DJ Illegal (Manuu Rückert) and Det Gunner (D. Keller). In 2011, producers Sicknature (Jeppe Andersen) from Denmark and J.S. Kuster (Johann Sebastian Kuster) from Ger ...

's music video with Swifty McVay, King Gordy, Sean Strange and Meth Mouth. In 2010, Bizarre was featured on the single "Be a Legend" with Russian hip-hop group Red Family MC'z. In 2011, Bizarre was featured on the track "Shock Em" with underground rap group Bankrupt Records for the album ''Double Vision''. In 2012, Bizarre released his fourth mixtape, titled ''This Guy's a Weirdo'', which includes a song titled "Justin Bieber" featuring King Gordy that was released along with a music video via Reel Wolf. In the song, Bizarre fantasizes about raping and murdering Canadian singer

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

. In 2014, he released a song called "Pray for Me" for his upcoming album. His ''Lace Blunts 2'' mixtape was released in March 2014, with nineteen tracks featuring guest artists such as

Fuzz Scoota Fuzz may refer to: * ''Fuzz'' (film), a 1972 American comedy * '' Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law'', a nonfiction book by Mary Roach * The fuzz, a slang term for police officers Music * Fuzz (electric guitar), distortion effects to create "wa ...

of their group D12,

Rittz Jonathan Matthew McCollum (born August 16, 1980), better known by his stage name Rittz, is an American rapper. His debut album ''The Life and Times of Jonny Valiant'' was released on April 30, 2013, rising to number 8 on ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip ...

Young Zee Dewayne Battle (born December 24, 1970), known professionally as Young Zee, is an American underground hip hop emcee. He was a former member of the Outsidaz, alongside Pacewon. Career Outsidaz The Outsidaz, a large hip hop crew that became t ...

, King Gordy, and Big T. Bizarre was featured on an international collaboration track called "Fuck the DJ" by UK rapper Blacklisted MC also featuring

Coolio Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (August 1, 1963 – September 28, 2022), known professionally as Coolio, was an American rapper. First rising to fame as a member of the gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle, Coolio achieved mainstream success as a solo ...

Adil Omar Adil Omar (born 17 May 1991) is a recording artist, rapper, record producer, singer and songwriter from Islamabad, Pakistan. He released his debut album and film, '' Transcendence'', on 8 July 2018. In addition to being a solo artist, he is also ...

(from Pakistan) and Uzimon (from Bermuda) the song was premiered on music website Noisey from ''Vice'' magazine in October 2014. Later in the year he wrote a verse alongside Detroit artists

Mastamind Gary Reed (born December 28, 1972), also known as Mastamind, is an American rapper from Detroit best known as a representative of the hip hop subgenre horrorcore. A founding member of Natas, he was formerly signed with Reel Life Productions befo ...

and Jeremiah Ferguson for their song "Whats Right". In 2014, he was featured on the single "Open Heart Surgery" by rapper Lazarus. It was released under All Def Digital and it won the award for "Song of the Year" at the 12th Underground Music Awards in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He has also made an appearance on a track titled "In Yo Behind" by Struggle Da Preacher which was released on Struggle's album ''Ups'n'Downs'' on June 30, 2014. In July 2015 they shot a video for it in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Russia. Mike ADHD "Frag Out" featuring Young Dirty Bastard, Baby Eazy E and Bizarre. In August 2017, The Keepaz of the Krypt (One Man Kru & Kapital Z) single "Diaries of the Whack Emcees" feat. Bizarre of D12 was released on all digital media outlets as well as One Man Kru's bandcamp page. The song garnered over 1 million plays on SoundCloud in its first week of release. The track was released just two weeks before it was announced that Bizarre had signed to

. In May 2018, Bizarre released music video "Cocaine In Miami" directed by Abeni Nazeer. He was also a feature guest on the Song Sadistentreff 2 by german Rapper Crystal f, along with Timi Hendrix and King Gordy. On July 9, 2018, Bizarre announced that he was reviving Redhead Records with Danny Mellz being his first act other than himself In September 2018, Bizarre featured in the single "Weirdo (feat. Bizarre)" by No Concept on

Drumsound and Bassline Smith Drumsound & Bassline Smith are a British electronic music production group, consisting of Andy Wright and Ben Wiggett (the duo known as Drumsound) along with Simon 'Bassline' Smith. They met at one of Derby's club nights in the summer of 1998. ...

's label, Technique Recordings. Also in September 2018, Bizarre made headlines again with

by releasing his own diss track aimed towards

Machine Gun Kelly George Kelly Barnes (July 18, 1895 – July 18, 1954), better known by his pseudonym "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster from Memphis, Tennessee, active during the Prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thomps ...

Jay Electronica Elpadaro F. Electronica Allah (born Timothy Elpadaro Thedford; September 19, 1976), known professionally as Jay Electronica (stylized as J A Y E L E C T R O N I C A), is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in New Orleans, he ...

and

Joe Budden Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American media personality and former rapper. He first gained recognition as a rapper with his 2003 top 40 single " Pump It Up" and as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. In ...

during the MGK and Joe Budden vs. Eminem beef of 2018. Bizarre's diss track titled "Love Tap" was released as a single everywhere on September 18, 2018. Bizarre also signed a deal for his podcast “The Bizarre World Podcast” with The Digital Soapbox Network/

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

Entercom Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...

On October 10, 2019, Bizarre released his second Extended Play ''Rufus''. The day after the release of his second extended play, he announced the release of a duo mixtape “Leatherface Mixtape” with

Hopsin Marcus Jamal Hopson (born July 18, 1985), known professionally as Hopsin, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles. In 2007, he was signed to Ruthless Records, and had founded his own record label, Funk Volume, i ...

on October 31, 2019. On May 31, 2020, Bizarre appeared on an album “Tabu“ of a Czech rapper named Schyzo on the song “Lubrikant“. Bizarre is featured on "Fat Man Swag" by Pacific Northwest rapper Jawbo, released on July 22, 2021. Bizarre is featured on "Limitless" by Canadian rapper Brax, from album "Leave it to Cleaver" released in late 2021. On October 31, 2021, Bizarre shared his fifth album "Dumpster Juice" with features from

Kidd Kidd Curtis Stewart (born November 26, 1983), better known by his stage name Kidd Kidd (formerly known as Nutt Da Kidd), is an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was one of the first members of Lil Wayne's label imprint, Young Money Enter ...

Merkules Cole Stevenson, known by the stage name Merkules, is a Canadian rapper from Surrey, British Columbia. He is known for his "hangover-rap" style of music. Career Stevenson began rapping at age 15 under the name Merk Mikz. He met Snak the Ripper at ...

, and Giggs, among others.

Discography

; Studio albums *''

'' (2005) *''

'' (2007) *''

'' (2010) *''Rufus'' (2019) *''Dumpster Juice'' (2021) *''Peter'' (2022) *''He Got a Gun'' (2022) ; Extended plays *''

'' (1998) ; Collaborative albums *''

'' (with

) (2001) *''

'' (with D12) (2004) *'' Taking Lives'' (with Fury as Something Awful) (2010) *''

'' (with

L.A.R.S. L.A.R.S. (sometimes stylized as Lars, a backronym of Last American Rock Stars. Originally known as The Davidians) is an American horrorcore duo, formed in Detroit, Michigan. It consists of rappers Bizarre (rapper), Bizarre (of D12) and King Gordy ...

) (2018) *''All in My Head'' (with Wack Rac) (2020) ; Mixtapes *''Hate Music'' (2008) *''Liquor, Weed & Food Stamps'' (2008) *''This Guy's a Weirdo'' (2012) *''Lace Blunts'' (2013) *''Lace Blunts 2'' (2014) *''Dab Life'' (2015) *''Tweek Sity'' (2015) *''Tweek Sity 2'' (2017) *''Foul World'' (with

) (2017) *''Pill God'' (2018) *''The Leatherface Mixtape'' (2019) ; Collaboration singles *''Where da Hoes at?'' (with King Killumbia &

Project Pat Patrick Earl Houston (born February 8, 1973), better known by his stage name Project Pat, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the older brother of Juicy J, the co-founder of Three 6 Mafia. Houston was formerly a member of hip h ...

) (2019) *''All Night'' (with King Killumbia & MET G) (2019) *''Detroit 2 Memphis'' (with Kingpin Skinny Pimp & Mexiveli) (2019)

Early life

Career

1990s and 2000s

2010-present

Discography

References

Further reading