Denaun Porter coming into his own
Tamara Warren recently interviewed Denaun Porter of D12 for RemixMag.com.
Denaun talks about working with Dr. Dre as well as the slate-full of projects he has underway, including executive producing Pharoahe Monch’s latest effort.
Denaun, also know as Kon Artis and Mr. Porter is asked about recording the latest D12 album without Proof:
While the absence of Proof is marked for D12, Porter is determined not to use this loss in an opportunistic way, and the sensitivity of the material is being approached gingerly by D12’s members — Kuniva, Swifty McVay, Bizarre, Eminem and DJ Salam Wreck. “We ain’t got to that point yet,” he says. Emotional release has come out in sporadic studio sessions, but nothing intended for public consumption. “We recorded some records you’ll never hear because there was a lot of anger going on in the studio.”
He also talks about how the recording for the D12 album has progressed thus far:
Things are steadily moving forward, with five completed tracks slated for release when Eminem signs off on the project, but Porter is guiding the album’s direction. “I applied the Juan Atkins techno thing,” Porter says. “We did a joint called ‘Zoned Out’ that is Detroit all the way.” He describes the song as a “jit” song, a style of music designed for a popular club dance in Detroit. “When I made it, I wanted to do something that Proof would have wanted. We was always talking about doing a jit song.” D12 still uses its signature sardonic humor, exemplified on the tawdry “Bugzshit” and a Swizz Beatz-produced “I Got Me an Ugly Bitch.” “That’s classic D12,” he says. “Battlecat gave me a record that’s got Nate Dogg sounding like a totally new man,” he says about “Out the Box.” “We’ve always been outside of the box, and then people put us on an island of our own.”
He also talks about the future of D12 following this album, and how things aren’t the same anymore:
Despite the pressure to make a record without Proof, Porter is primed. “I’m standing up to every ounce of pressure. Sonically, it’s going to be one of the best D12 records. It’s been Eminem-driven for so long, and I wanted to step away from that. It’s a shame that my label didn’t use me the way I should have been used. In light of my friend passing, I’m not here to try and impress them. I’m not here to sit quiet and let days go by. That’s the Eminem Show; that’s not the Denaun show. He worked hard to get that, but it’s time for me to step outside of that. That they trust me is a great thing. I’ll be glad when it’s over with. After I’m done, there won’t be no more. We friends, but it’s political; it ain’t no fun. I don’t think it’s bad to say — it’s just honest. Even before what happened to Proof, it wasn’t fun.”
