D12 member shares executive-producer credit with Em on Hell: The Sequel.
As a producer, Denaun Porter is quite accomplished. In addition to producing 50 Cent's hit "P.I.M.P." and G-Unit's 2003 single "Stunt 101," the beatmaker, who doubles as a rapper in the group D12, has crafted tracks for Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Game and Busta Rhymes.
With all that he's done, though, for the first time, Mr. Porter has earned an executive-producer credit on Eminem and Royce Da 5'9" 's Bad Meets Evil EP. While the distinction was a definite goal for Mr. Porter, he remains humble about it, choosing to let his work speak for itself. In fact, he's worked on many albums and sometimes didn't receive the credit that he's earned, and he's OK with that.
"I'm not the kind of producer where I'm gonna say, 'Yo, I did this, I did this, I did this.' I want it to be my work," he told Sway on the set of Bad Meets Evil's "Fast Lane" video. "I come from the [Dr.] Dre school; we don't talk about it. I do it, though. You put me in that room, I'll show you."
Denaun produced four of the nine tracks on Hell: The Sequel as well as "Living Proof," which appears as a bonus track on the deluxe version of the EP. "Em even came in the studio one day, like, 'Yo, homey, you're showing your ass.' I was like, 'Yeah, I'm not playing now' — it's that serious to me," Porter said.
With all the work he put in, the Shady camp named Mr. Porter co-executive producer of Hell: The Sequel, along with Eminem. Despite their personal relationship and ties to D-12, however, Mr. Porter's involvement on Em's albums is never a given. He did produce Eminem's 1996 underground album Infinite in its entirety, but when Denaun has landed tracks on Slim Shady's major-label albums, it's usually only a track or two.
"I was making it hard for him. I was just bringing the heat to him," Porter said of how he ended up landing so many beats on the Bad Meets Evil project. "I had my mind made up that I didn't want to do one joint here, because for years, I was just doing 'em when I felt like it. Now it's like I got something to prove."
