Denaun Porter, a.k.a. Kon Artis of D12, said the Detroit rap group will put out another album, despite losing the man who brought them together in the first place.
It's been a rough time for the group, which also includes Bizarre, Eminem, Swift and Kuniva. They had to not only mourn friend and band mate Proof -- and absorb the circumstances surrounding his death -- but also deal with Swift (a.k.a. Ondre Moore) being jailed for a probation violation.
Porter will be executive producing the new album, which will include pre-recorded tracks from Proof.
Question: What's next for D12?
Answer: We're going to start the album as soon as Swift gets out of jail. I've been working on the record going back and forth between here and California -- I'm working on some records with Dr. Dre and getting his opinion on what he thinks is dope. So this will be the first time I get to take control production-wise, and hopefully take it to another direction. ... I felt like sometimes we weren't able to show growth and weren't able to show the music. So this time, it's just all about the music. And showing what D12 is all about, especially with the loss of Proof.
I want so much to be able to do that, and it's even more reason to do it now with him not being here. If people think that because he's not here we're not going to keep doing what we're doing, then they're wrong.
Q: Who will be on the album?
A: We want to start exposing our artists. I want Guilty Simpson to be on the album. I want people to get familiar with these people because they're an extension of who we are. I've reached out to Busta. Of course Dre.
We definitely want to do a song with D12 and G-Unit. And 50 Cent, too. And we'll be messing with the artists that we have in our arsenal, like Obie Trice and Stat Quo. ... We had some songs recorded already. We got a song called 'Holding Our Own' that we recorded, and Proof is on that song, actually.
Q: About when do you think it'll come out?
A: We're trying to start recording at the top of June to actually get the songs done. I'm trying to make the process as quick as possible.
Q: How many tracks will Proof be on?
A: We've got enough stuff to work with. It's just going to be different trying to do that record without him. We're definitely going to keep pushing. This is a new beginning. At first, we were actually trying to not have Em involved. But I can't see him not being involved. We're going to need him more than ever. We can't fill the place of the person that's missing.