The name must certainly ring a bell. Mr. Porter aka Denaun Porter, formerly known as Kon Artis of Eminem’s rap group D12 is living a new life. He recently announced his departure from the group and start of his solo career as a rapper/producer.
His production discography is one which is not to be messed with, with credits including two songs on Eminem’s major label debut Slim Shady LP, one each on The Eminem Show and Recovery, ‘Stunt 101’ on G-Unit’s Beg For Mercy and songs on 3 Snoop Dogg albums. Other major artists who have been happy to work with him are Busta Rhymes, Black Milk, Xzibit, Slaughterhouse, Game, Method Man, Lil Kim and the list goes on, endlessly. Not to forget, he produced Eminem’s entire debut album Infinite with some help from Late Proof back in 1996, as many as 5 songs on Eminem & Royce Da 5’9”s Hell: The Sequel last year and of course his biggest hit to date, 50 Cent’s ‘P.I.M.P’.
Mr. Porter is now looking to shed his quiet personality and aim for greatness with his debut album The Memo, set to release later this year or early next year. But that’s not the only thing he’s busy with at the moment. The producer, rapper & singer has established his own imprint My Own Planet through which he will be signing a few upcoming acts.
I had an opportunity to talk to him yesterday on various topics including his Coachella appearance with Eminem this past weekend, debut album, projects he will be releasing before the album, his imprint, artists that he has already signed, relationship with Eminem & producing Infinite, ‘Detox’, 50 Cent, top 5 producers, upcoming collaborations and much more. Enjoy the five page interview.
HHNM: Thanks a lot for taking out the time to speak to me. I’ve been a fan for years.
Mr. Porter: Ah, no problem. You’re making me feel old (laughs).
HHNM: Let me start this interview by talking about the epic Coachella set that went down this past Sunday. Dre brought out some big names out including Eminem and yourself. How was the experience?
Mr. Porter: Knowing all those guys, for us, it was like being around with everybody again. I’ve worked with Snoop on almost every album since we met. Warren G and Kurupt and those guys, I’ve been friends with them for a while. But for me it was like reconnecting with all of them. Em being there, 50 being there, it was great. Everybody sounded great and did an awesome job on that stage. But the most exciting part to me was the just entire show that went down. I had the chance to meet Kendrick Lamar and BJ The Chicago Kid. I’m a fan of both those guys and it’s funny because BJ actually said something to me and I didn’t even know it was him and he’s like “Yo I’m a fan” and when he told me who he was, I was like “Yo, I’m a fan!” It was crazy, I had fun. Me and Kendrick are gonna definitely hook up and do some music together. It was just awesome man.
HHNM: You recently announced that Kon Artis is dead and you’re no longer part of D12. So how do you feel being a solo artist now? Any difference from being in a group?
Mr. Porter: Yeah, it’s already a new journey. You know it’s just the beginning of it so I’m not sure how I feel about it. It’s kinda like you’re doing your own shows and promoting yourself and those things. I’ve been a very quiet person my whole career. And this is different because it’s lot of self-promotion and I’m still learning as I go and I hope fans are patient with me because I’m like really soft spoken when it comes to my talent and capabilities. I don’t want people to think I’m something that I’m not or thinking too much of myself. I believe in myself whole heartedly but this area of self-promotion is something new to me. I just love doing music. So I’m building a team around me that can help me with that and are well versed with it and who can point me in the right direction. So it’s really a learning process for me but I’m enjoying every step. Some relationships around me are changing because I’m a lot more busy now. So when I’m not producing or when I’m not working with Em, I’m still busy 24/7. It’s just different now, not being in a group but I’m definitely enjoying every bit of it.
HHNM: What can we expect from your debut album ‘The Memo’?
Mr. Porter: Phew (laughs). Let’s see. Because it’s so new I still don’t know what to tell you what exactly you can expect from it. I’m about 6 songs deep into that project. But I’m also considering doing 2 projects before it, before the actual album.
HHNM: Ah okay. Like mixtapes / street releases?
Mr. Porter: Yeah, something like that. Because I think I owe that to fans and to reconnect with people. It’s almost like you have to do that. But they will be proper projects. But ‘The Memo’ is what I’m focussing on right now. I worked on a song from a year ago but didn’t know at that time if I’ll ever do an album. But you can expect some great things. It’s not gonna be too much flossin’, it’s lot of messages in it. I feel ‘The Memo’ is in itself like a memo to the world. It’s like introducing the new me to the world and to remind the fans about who I really am. Like I would like a fan to state a fact about me and say “hey did you know that Mr. Porter was the one who produced “P.I.M.P.’?”
HHNM: Do you have a time frame for its release?
Mr. Porter: Nah, I don’t have a specific date for it yet. I wouldn’t like to say until I know for sure. Because I’m still building the project and the sound for it. Like at Coachella, I was playing songs for Em, I was thinking to myself “you know what, maybe I should do this or maybe I should do that” because I want to understand exactly who I am. If I just throw out the album without proper planning, they might not understand the real me. I don’t want to make the album a guinea pig for me.
You know, actually a Twitter fan came up with the name of one of my projects. I will actually credit him in that project. It’s called ‘Denaun The man, Mr. Porter The Producer’.
HHNM: Damn, that’s a good one.
Mr. Porter: Yeah and I think that’s gonna be the first project before the album. And I’m already about 4 songs into that. It’s probably gonna be about 8 songs in total. Nothing too crazy. I’m not gonna over saturate fans. That’s one thing I won’t do. And then I’ll do another project after that. As far as dates are concerned, one of those projects will definitely be out this Summer and anther one will follow shortly after.
The other one, I may call it ‘Your Producer’s Favourite Producer’. Not sure if that’s gonna be that title but basically what I’m doing on that project is working with other producers that I know. DJ Khalil, Jake One, Hi-Tek, DJ Toomp, Alchemist and basically, I’ma co-produce the beats with them and do songs to all of the beats we make together.
HHNM: Wow, that sounds like a dope concept. So who are some of the guests we can expect to hear on the album? Will Eminem be there?
Mr. Porter: Yeah, I’m definitely gonna do something with him but I don’t want anything to sound forced. If there’s something that fits, we’re definitely gonna do it. I know that I’m going to have him finish a lot of songs. Because a lot of times I produce songs for myself, it’s harder to think further. And Em knows how to take an idea and turn it into something else. I just want that element. Even if it is as a producer or it’s working on verses or mixing. He’s definitely gonna be involved. He’s just a big part of my life, period. I play all the songs for him. He’s heard a good portion of the project already. To get his approval and for him to think it’s dope means everything to me. Yup, he’ll definitely be a big part of the project.
HHNM: Will you be producing the entire album yourself?
Mr. Porter: Yeah, I will definitely have other producers on my album. I believe ‘Denaun The Man, Mr. Porter The Producer’, that’s gonna be solely produced by me.
HHNM: Okay cool. So will these pre-releases be free or will they go to retail?
Mr. Porter: Yeah I believe the first one will be free. That is usually up to the management how they see it or how it works. I wanna do it for free, really because I think I owe that to fans.
HHNM: Yeah, you could also do something like have the first one for free and the second one as an EP on retail.
Mr. Porter: Yeah because I don’t expect them to just go and buy a project. I love people too much. I look at it from a fan’s perspective. I ain’t gonna just buy an album till I believe in it. Like for example, I was listening to some of Wale’s songs and I became a fan. That ‘Slight Work’ record is crazy. I just didn’t buy is music right away. I listened to a lot of prior mixtapes and then decided to buy.
HHNM: Yeah but I think that song is very production dominated. Diplo came up with a crazy beat right there.
Mr. Porter: Oh yeah, you know what, shout out to Diplo because that gave me so many ideas for my own projects. And I like listening to other artists. I was really influenced by Dilla, Dre, Nottz and Hi-Tek, I came up on those guys. I like J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League as well. I’m planning on working with them. I’m a fan of these people. It gives me inspiration, I love it.
HHNM: Is it true that you produced Eminem’s entire debut album ‘Infinite’?
Mr. Porter: Yeah!
HHNM: Wow.
Mr. Porter: Yeah, crazy I know.
HHNM: How has Em grown over the years? Did you ever think he will be as big he is in the present day?
Mr. Porter: (Laughs) You see, that’s a question we both wonder often. We often look at each other and say “what the hell happened?” It’s not necessarily like that. I don’t think there was a want to be that way. Most people start their careers like ‘I wanna be the biggest thing ever’. But we started with the love for music. He loves the music. I love being a producer. I love the fact that so many people are rapping over my beats. The thing is when I got into the industry, people didn’t get my ideas as much so I focused on one song that made sense and not forcing shit.
Like me and Em did that record from start to finish and Proof came in and actually did the drum programming. So when me, him and Proof worked on the album together, it was just crazy. Then it went from that to ‘Slim Shady LP’. Like you don’t think it’s gonna be anything big, you’re just kids making music, know what I mean? We were so big on trying to get on the radio at home but the radio did not mess with us. We did not have the support at all. I remember we were trying to make songs that may work but they still didn’t play them (laughs).
HHNM: Damn. And look at him now. He’s one of the biggest artists on the planet. Amazing how things work out sometimes.
Mr. Porter: Yeah you know what, you just gotta look at it as blessings really.
HHNM: Definitely. So you now have your own Production company ‘My Own Planet’. What are your plans with it?
Mr. Porter: Yes. I started it with my partner, Amar Toma. We’ve been friends since a long time and we were always talking about working together. When I first got into the industry, he had just started a cellphone company, it was like a little hole in a wall store. Amazingly, a year later, the dude was a millionaire. And I was doing really well in my business. We just remained friends but we were always trying to figure out how to work together. It just turned out that we decided to do the company about a year ago.
We’ve signed some pretty good acts and we’re just developing them right now. Things should be coming out soon. I always try to sign people who are self-motivated and who can self-promote. I want people to be better than myself when it comes to that.
HHNM: I see. So are you gonna sign both producers and artists or is it strictly a production company?
Mr. Porter: We have signed 2 producers right now. I have one guy from Baltimore, his name is Jay O. I feel like this kid is always working. It’s just matter of time, we’re now starting to push his music. You’ll definitely see placements from him this year. He’s already in the process of producing and writing music for some good artists. Then we have this kid named Young Roc from Detroit. I see a lot of myself in him. It’s that growing period for him where he’s learning.
And the artist we have is, I don’t know if you’re familiar with the battle scene but I signed Marvwon. He’s been pretty successful on the battle scene as far as fight club and smack and all those things. And I signed Keely. She’s a singer, plays guitar, plays piano. She has the most unique voice I’ve ever heard. And then I have Meech from Baltimore also. It’s crazy that I deal with certain kinda music that’s different from my own. This kid reminds me of really heavy pop influences. It’s almost like Flo Rida but with punchlines. He’s got a mixtape that just came out called ‘Hurry Up & Wait’. The kid is hilarious. He’s got great ideas.
HHNM: Now that you’re a solo artist, will you still continue to produce for other artists? Who are some of the artists that you have recently worked with?
Mr. Porter: Yeah, I am actually producing for people right now. I’m working on songs for Ludacris. Meeting Kendrick at Coachella was great. I’m definitely about to work something for him. So I will continue to produce for other artists as well. I think it helps me keep my pen sharp with ideas.
HHNM: I was just looking at your production discography. It’s really impressive but I don’t think many people talk about it as often as they should. Do you ever feel you’re underrated?
Mr. Porter: Yeah! (Laughs) But it’s good for me because I’m always hungry. You know we all want recognition but I think I have the recognition I deserve. What I get from it is: helping people. If a person tells me I made a song that they just love and still play it years later, what they don’t know most of the times is that I made that music years ago. So I feel like I’m ahead of myself anyway. Like I can make music one day and sell it to a person years later. That’s a gift that I do have. But I’m cool with what I have. I’m cool with being able to go to the movies by myself and certain things like that. And still make the money I make doing it. I love the fact that I can do what I love as a job but I do feel a lil underrated. I’m great at what I do. When I leave this earth, I’m probably going to be worth more than while I’m on the earth but you know what, I’ll be ahead of my time so I’m cool with that. What I came from? I think I’m a success story.
If I compare myself to Timbaland or Dr. Dre, I could feel I’m doing nothing with my life but I don’t envy people. Like Dre is my inspiration and my homie. That dude taught me so much. Who wouldn’t want that kinda life? If he saw me walking down the street, he’ll be like “yo what up, where you going?” It’s a million people out there he wouldn’t do that to. So that’s an accomplishment for me. So it just depends on how you weigh your success. Some people just want the glamour and glitz but then when you can’t have a relationship and you can’t have a family of your own, what’s the point. Some people think it’s all fun and games but it’s a lot of work. There are a lot of sacrifices that come with it. It’s hard. But I think people are gonna take notice of me a lot more this year.
I think me being quiet is pretty much over for me. I think my music is going to speak or itself. I’m a lot more hungry now. It’s fun again. It wasn’t fun for a couple of years, you know. But now I feel like it’s fun again. I’m in trouble cause I’ma bust people’s a*s, I ain’t gonna lie (laughs). I’m now out to make singles again and make people dance.
HHNM: Speaking of Dre, what the hell is up with ‘Detox’? And have you heard any of it, ever?
Mr. Porter: Yes, I have.
HHNM: Recently?
Mr. Porter: Yup. Look at it this way, when it comes it will come. It will be here when it’s time. If it shows up it’s cool, if not it’s still cool. What can you take away from a dude who’s done what he has done. This show that he put on this past weekend was monumental. That was life changing for people. Even though some people used that technology(hologram) before, it was never talked about this much.
HHNM: Yeah, you can’t ever take anything away from him.
Mr. Porter: Yeah, you can’t rush a person to make something that he wants to be right. You can’t blame him for that. People put their expectations on you. I almost wish he never said anything.
HHNM: Yeah, because it’s been a decade now (laughs).
Mr. Porter: Yeah because I hate that he had to go through that pressure. I know how he works. Most people don’t give a sh*t about the creative process, I do. I want him to be comfortable and be happy working. Not like people wanna shoot you down because they waited too long. That sh*t is wack. He’s got music with other people that’s great. He’s working with Kendrick and the records that he has with him are dope. Appreciate what you have. Let that process be that process. I’d rather wait. And I’m one of his protégés so I will do whatever is required. I’m a fan but I’m also a friend. I can go to the store and get popcorn for him if I had to. If people calm down, I believe it will come out.
HHNM: You produced 50 Cent’s chart topper ‘P.I.M.P’ but I don’t think you worked with him again after that apart from G-Unit’s ‘Stunt 101’. What’s the reason?
Mr. Porter: Man, when it comes to that situation, we’ve done a lot of records in between. What happened was really just timing. I went different ways and all that. What people don’t realize about 50 is that, that guy held our ship for a long time. We were going through turmoil and 50 was out there by himself. I think that’s the story that should be told. He has been recording music to my beats but they just didn’t make the cut or whatever. 50’s the man though. He held it down for Shady/Aftermath when we weren’t going through a good phase. Dre lost his son, we lost Proof. 50 was out there grinding by himself.
We recently have been talking a lot about some records. Maybe it will happen on his new album, I don’t know. I wasn’t giving it my 110% on the records that I was sending him since I wasn’t in a right space but hopefully, that will change now and we will work soon.
HHNM: So did you recently send him any beats? Any possibility you could land up on his new album?
Mr. Porter: Yeah, actually I am currently looking for a record for him. I gave one record away that was specifically for him. I had to give it to another artist because it was a deadline issue. It had to be turned in, in time.
HHNM: And who’s the artist that you gave the beat to?
Mr. Porter: Umm..well I’ll say it will be coming out around next month. And it was a group, not a solo artist.
HHNM: Ahh..Slaughterhouse?
Mr. Porter: Maybe. And the crazy part is that I actually gave away one of my singles. It was a single I wrote for myself. Then I thought it would be perfect for 50 and then the whole situation came up and went to somebody else.
HHNM: By the way, that Slaughterhouse album is shaping up nicely.
Mr. Porter: Yeah man, Em is mixing their record right now. He’s killing the mixes man. I was just up there yesterday listening to one of the songs I did. Em is phenomenal. I do so many things like produce, mix, rap, sing and all that. I just have to work on marketing it now. And Em will tell you himself like he’s still learning certain stuff. And that’s funny cause I tell him like “yeah you got it” and he’ll tell me like “naw I’m still learning” (laughs).
HHNM: Yeah I think mixing and mastering is really, really important. For example, that new Kendrick and Dre record sounds so crisp. You can hear so many layers on it.
Mr. Porter: Yeah, I’m glad you said that because people need to learn that. It’s not something that is easy. You have to put your all into that stuff. You need a lot of patience for it.
HHNM: Name a few artists that you would really like to work with or produce for but haven’t done yet.
Mr. Porter: Hmm let’s see. Kendrick is definitely one of them. And I will definitely work with him. I’ma collaborate with a lot of producers as well. Just try to do something different. I’m gonna probably work with Wale and Rick Ross. I like B.o.B as well and would like to do something with him. Slim The Mobster is really dope. We did 3 or 4 records together. And he’s Aftermath family so that’s good. And yeah, BJ The Chicago Kid. That kid is really dope. And me being a singer too, I really like when I hear a good singer. Hopefully, I will get to work with him.
HHNM: And you can sing pretty well right?
Mr. Porter: Oh I’ve done a lot of hooks. Like that Busta Rhymes ‘They’re Out To Get Me’ song. But I’ve also written songs for Bilal and produced a song for Eric Roberson’s new album. Yeah, I’m a pretty good singer. I’ll be singing on my albums. People will get to hear it. There’s a song that I would like Eminem to help me finish because I think he can make the song bigger than what it is. Just looking for the time to finish it. I would like to put Kendrick on it, it’s a pretty big song. I’m not wasting any facet of my talent. I’ll try to do all I can. I have a song called ‘Impatient’ that’s one of my favorites for my album.
Oh yeah, I don’t wanna forget. J. Cole is definitely somebody I wanna work with. I’m actually from North Carolina and most of my family is there. 9th Wonder is a good friend of mine and Phonte is like my brother so it makes sense for me to work with him.
And yeah, singing is something it was going to evolve into anyway. People need to catch up. I have been singing on hooks for years. Like the Game record ‘All Around The World’, I wrote it for Jamie Foxx. A lot of times people don’t know stuff cause I don’t tell them and I’m learning to say it (laughs). It’s hard for me because I don’t wanna come across like I’m tootin’ my own horn. I hate that sh*t. But yeah, I have a lot of singers in my family so I’m definitely gonna display that talent.
Oh yeah, I actually bumped into Usher the other day at Coachella and I just sent him 2 songs that I wrote, sang and produced for his album. Hopefully, something will happen.
HHNM: Name your top 5 producers of all time. Doesn’t have to be in order.
Mr. Porter: Do they have to be all Hip-Hop producers?
HHNM: Nah, any genre.
Mr. Porter: Hmm.. J. Dilla, Dr. Dre, Stevie Wonder, Prince and then a tie between Eminem and myself.
HHNM: Nice. I’m glad you mentioned Prince since he’s my all time favorite artist. Alright, so this is a question we ask everybody we interview here at Hip Hop N More: Prince or Michael Jackson and why?
Mr. Porter: Wow, let me think, that’s a hard one. If I had to pick one, I would say Michael. When he was doing Jackson 5, he had hits then. His catalog is just ridiculous. You really can’t front on Mike. MJ is an artist and Prince is really heavy on the production side. Prince really snuck into my previous list coz I’m on some really Funk Prince sh*t right now. Usually it’s Quincy Jones, that’s always gonna be my top 5. He’s got crazy longevity. I respect people with longevity. If Dilla was still here, he would be bustin’ people’s ass. Prince is still around and he’s still one of the best singers, guitarists, producers and performers.
I’m not into one minute people that are around for a decade and then you move on to the next person. If you look at my career, I base my career on longevity, not off fame, not how hard I talk about myself. You should be able to re-create yourself at all times. I have been able to stand the test of time because I listen. Same with Eminem. So is Dre.
HHNM: Alright great. So that’s about it. I had a great time chatting with you. Thanks again and good luck on all your future endeavors.
Mr. Porter: Definitely man. Thank you. It was my pleasure.
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