While one may not expect it considering Eminem’s tumultuous upbringing, his friend/partner-in-tunes Denaun Porter seems to have a great relationship with his ‘rents. When explaining to MichiganHipHop why he operates the way he does, he’ll often say, “That’s how I was raised.” These days, Ms. Porter must be proud of her son: along with producing for his multi-platinum selling group D12, the Detroit native has become a go-to beatmaker for the likes of Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent, and helps music equipment company Open Labs develop sounds and keyboards. But Mr. Porter doesn’t let his big business get in the way of him making his stamp on the indie scene with artists like Royce Da 5’9” and Pharaohe Monch, and a consistent A-list clientele didn’t stop him from helping upstart artists with a web site that licensed his beats for as low as $50.
MichiganHipHop’s conversation with Mr. Porter was so packed with information that we had to split it into three parts. In Part 1 of this series, Mr. Porter talks vividly about his bond with Eminem. Check under the cut for how he stands by Em’s side as a producer, workout partner, hype man (in lieu of fellow D12 member Proof’s death), and as a friend.
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