Denaun Porter recently opened up about making D12’s “Devil’s Night” with Dr. Dre, revealing Eminem’s personal favorite verse performance of his career.
When an artist is a noted perfectionist, it stands to reason that they are — at a minimum — rather difficult to please. For Eminem, who has frequently professed to be his own harshest critic, it can be difficult to imagine what stands as perfection in his eyes. This is, after all, a man who washed his hands of Relapse following a tepid response, despite the fact that it went on to develop a major cult following. So what then, when it comes to his own vast discography, does Eminem hold in high esteem?
During an extensive conversation with rapper and producer Denaun Porter, who currently holds it down as Eminem’s longstanding hype man during live concerts, the former D12 member took a moment to reflect on that very topic. Speaking on the Dirty Dozen’s classic debut album Devil’s Night, which predominantly featured production from himself, Eminem, and Dr. Dre, Denaun opened up about the Los Angeles recording sessions with the Good Doctor.
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“I remember doing the album and working on “Ain’t Nothin’ But Music” with Dre, and “Fight Music” came out of that session there, in L.A,” he recalls. “I remember trying to figure out what to do. I don’t remember if we had “Purple Pills” already, that might have come early in the game. But “Fight Music” was a no brainer. Em always said — he still says — that that’s his best vocal performance ever, in his whole career. From the verse to the hook, he felt like that was his best. And I would say that’s one of my best, and one of my favorites.”
Fans are likely familiar with the Dr. Dre-produced “Fight Music,” which served as the group’s second single back when the album dropped in 2001. There are certainly many who view his work with D12 to be some of his best material, and it’s not entirely surprising that Em still holds his Devil’s Night performances in high esteem — though it is admittedly rare for him to discuss the project at length. For more where that came from, be sure to dive into our full-length conversation with the Kon Artis himself, Denaun Porter — right here.