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← Famous Detroiters

Music

Swifty McVay

born 1976American · rapper

Detroit rapper and longtime member of D12, the group that grew out of the city's 1990s battle scene and went multi-platinum alongside Eminem.

Born

Detroit, Michigan
age 50
Birth name
Ondre Moore
Also known as
Swift · Swifty
Detroit years
1976–present
Field
Music

01 / The Detroit story

The Detroit story

Swifty McVay was born in Detroit and came up in the city's underground rap scene of the 1990s, when crews tested their skills at open mics such as the Hip Hop Shop on West Seven Mile. D12 had been assembled by Proof in 1996 from local rappers including Bizarre, Bugz, Kuniva and Denaun Porter. One of Bugz's last wishes before he was shot and killed in May 1999 was that Swifty join the group, and he became part of the lineup that, with Eminem, made the double-platinum albums Devil's Night (2001) and D12 World (2004). The group won the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Act in 2004. After Proof's death in 2006 and Eminem's step back, Swifty kept D12 going with Bizarre and Kuniva through a series of mixtapes, and in June 2026 he and Kuniva released D12 Forever, Volume 1 as a duo, with unreleased verses from Proof and Bugz.

Highlights

  1. Joined D12 in 1999 at the late Bugz's request.
  2. Devil's Night (2001) and D12 World (2004) were both certified double platinum.
  3. D12 won the 2004 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Act.
  4. Released D12 Forever, Volume 1 with Kuniva on June 19, 2026.

02 / Their Detroit places

Their Detroit places 1

Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.

  1. Performed here · mid-1990s

    The Hip Hop Shop

    Closed · 1993–1997

    D12 members were among the MCs who battled at the store's Saturday open mics.

    15736 W. Seven Mile Rd, Detroit, MIMap ↗Place page →Source ↗