Bizarre
Bizarre (Rufus Johnson) of D12, the Detroit rapper behind the Attack of the Weirdos EP (1998) and the album Hannicap Circus (2005), featuring the single “Rockstar.”
Early years and D12
Bizarre was born Rufus Johnson on July 5, 1976, in Detroit. He is best known as a member of D12, the Detroit group formed in the mid-1990s with Proof, Eminem and others. With D12 he appeared on “Devil's Night” (2001) and “D12 World” (2004), and he also appeared on Eminem's “The Marshall Mathers LP” on the song “Amityville”. He is also counted as an honorary member of the Outsidaz.
Attack of the Weirdos
His solo debut, the seven-track EP “Attack of the Weirdos”, came out on Federation Records on September 1, 1998. Production came from DJ Head, Mr. Porter, Hush, J Dilla and Mad Chemist, and Eminem appeared on “Trife Thieves”. The EP earned him an Inner City Flava of the Year award and was reissued for its 20th anniversary in 2018.
Hannicap Circus
“Hannicap Circus”, his first full-length album, was released June 28, 2005, through Sanctuary Urban and Red Head Records. It peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard 200 and No. 43 in the UK. Its single “Rockstar”, produced by Eminem, reached No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart. Guests included Big Boi, Devin the Dude, Obie Trice, Raphael Saadiq and D12, with production from Hi-Tek, Erick Sermon and Mr. Porter.
Later work
Bizarre continued releasing solo music, including “Blue Cheese & Coney Island” (2007), “Friday Night at St. Andrews” (2010) and a run of projects from 2019 onward such as “Dumpster Juice” and “18159 Stout”. He has recorded with Kuniva, King Gordy, Royce da 5'9" and Tech N9ne, and appeared on “Antichrist” from Eminem's 2024 album “The Death of Slim Shady”.
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