Two of the producers on the opening track from Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP 2” discuss cooking up the cut.
Fans who purchase Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2 tomorrow (November 5) will start off their listening experience with “Bad Guy,” the album’s opening track.
Produced by S1, M-Phazes, and Streetrunner (who produced the second half of the track), the track also features vocals from Sarah Jaffe.
In a video created by S1 and Jaffe (collectively The Dividends), S1 broke down how the track came to be in Eminem’s possession. “Myself, along with Sarah Jaffe, as a collective, is known as The Dividends,” said S1. “What’s crazy is that the first three records we ever did was picked up by major artists, one of them being ‘Bad Guy.'”
S1 continued, explaining the song’s structure. “The ‘Bad Guy’ record was produced by myself, along with an incredible producer from Australia, M-Phazes, and the second half of the track was produced by superproducer Streetrunner.”
M-Phazes also appeared in the video. “First thing I laid down was sort of this lead synth part,” said M-Phazes of his contribution. “Next up, I put the bass line down. Next, there’s a little chirpy synth I put on, which sort of fills out the top end a little bit.”
S1 took M-Phazes’ foundation, laid drums on the track, and added polish, and the rest was history. “I remember in the meeting [Interscope Records executive] Manny asked me was I sure that this record was available,” said S1. “I told him it was available. He was like, ‘This is a smash. I’m about to send this to Eminem right now.'”
S1 has produced for Kanye West, 50 Cent, Lupe Fiasco, Raekwon, Royce Da 5’9, and others. M-Phazes collaborations include Saigon, Pharoahe Monch, Talib Kweli, and Jean Grae, among others, while Streetrunner has done tracks for Lil Wayne, Fabolous, Royce Da 5’9, and more.
