The contrast between Infinite and the Slim Shady EP seems striking. Denaun Porter now reveals the frustration and creative freedom that drove that transformation.
In his 3rd Verse interview, Denaun connects three things that are usually treated separately: the failure of Infinite, the formation of D12, and the emergence of Slim Shady. He says that Proof’s idea for D12 gave Eminem a reason to develop his Slim Shady alter ego. The freedom he found in letting himself go also showed him what happened when he removed the filters from his music. So, Denaun points to the exact moment when things changed:
D12 happens in that moment. Proof was like, I want to put together a group that’s almost Wu-Tang. It was supposed to be 12 people, but we couldn’t find 12 people. It started as a larger group called D12, then it shrank down to six people with two personalities each: Eminem and Slim Shady, Denaun Porter and Kon Artis, Proof and Dirty Harry. The concept was that we were going to say the most outrageous shit ever. Because it seemed like we were saying these other things and it wasn’t working. We got to a point where we let everything go, stopped trying to impress people, and just made music for ourselves.
The Slim Shady EP happens because Em just got to the point where it was frustration. We were recording D12 songs at the house on an 8-track. I made the beats, and everybody came over to record their verse. We loved the idea of it, but then he was like, “Yo, I’m taking this Slim Shady thing and going even further”. And we started the EP. I had to go back home, so me and my parents kind of made amends. I’m making beats, and I didn’t even have a radio at this point. He came over like, “Yo, I need some beats”. I told him, “My mum’s gonna kick me out if I don’t get paid for these beats. If you give me a radio, I’ll make you some beats. But I’m not telling her ’cause at this point it’s “You’ve got to get out, or you go get a job”. And I’m younger than him; I’m learning, but I also know what it’s like: “I only wanna do this”.
I made “Just Don’t Give a Fuck” and “Low Down, Dirty”. We did all of them in one day. And it turned into the Slim Shady EP. He was like, “Bro, just give me the filth”. We called it the filth. And he was like, “I just don’t give a fuck, bro. This is my last shot”. It was his last swing.
Earlier in the same interview, Denaun talked about making Infinite in the hope that the songs would make it to radio. It did not work. Only when Marshall reached a point of brutal, painful openness did the audience respond.