Searching for Jerry Garcia
| Searching for Jerry Garcia | ||||
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| Studio album by Proof | ||||
| Released | August 9, 2005 | |||
| Recorded | 2004–2005 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop, Hardcore Hip Hop | |||
| Length | 67:37 | |||
| Label | Iron Fist Records | |||
| Producer | Mr. Porter, Eminem, B-Real, Emile, Nick Speed, Sicknotes, Black Milk, Fredwreck, Essman, DJ Jewels, Ski, Salam Wreck, Dirty Bird | |||
| Proof chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
| The Situation | |
| NME |   |
| HipHopDX.com | |
| RapReviews.com | |
Searching for Jerry Garcia is the second and final studio album by Detroit rapper Proof of D12, released on August 9, 2005. It was the only solo album that Proof released on a major record label before his death. It reached number 65 on the U.S. Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The album is named after Grateful Dead member Jerry Garcia. The album's release date, August 9, 2005, intentionally coincided with the ten-year anniversary of Garcia's death.
Proof used the title of this album and the original song titles ("Jump Biatch" was originally "Eric Clapton Jr.") to refer to famous deaths that people are uncertain about. He extends this concept to express suicidal thoughts of his own on the track "Kurt Kobain".
Proof found inspiration in an unlikely person — the late jam rocker Jerry Garcia, saying to Rolling Stone Magazine: "I was watching Searching for Bobby Fisher and Mark Hicks (D12's manager) put in a Jerry Garcia documentary. In this movie, he talked about never doing the same show twice. I did that to D12 sets overseas. Plus, he didn't care about record sales — he just wanted to make fans happy."
The album was released August 9, 2005, the tenth anniversary of Garcia's death, on Proof's independent label, Iron Fist Records. "I called his estate, and I couldn't believe they gave me permission [to use the name]!" says the rapper. "They didn't ask for money. So I'm like a disciple, preaching the gospel of Jerry Garcia. The dude is phenomenal."
Besides Garcia, Proof also gives a shout-out to Nirvana's late frontman in Searching's closing track, "Kurt Kobain" [sic]. "The circumstances of Kurt's death are freaky to me. I don't think he killed himself," Proof says. "But I'm not trying to keep Elvis alive, and I'm not saying that Tupac is in Cuba."
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Wikipedia