More News 03/18/09: Eminem Albums Set

EMINEM CONFIRMS ALBUM RELEASE DATE

Rap star Eminem has confirmed his new album, his first in four years, will be released on May 18th.

Relapse, the rapper's fifth album, will be preceded by a new single and video in April, Interscope Records announced today, after his previous hit Crack A Bottle hit the number one on the US chart and broke a record for first week download sales.

And as well as confirming the release of his first new material since 2004, Eminem, [real name Marshall Mathers] also announced that he is already working on a follow-up album to Relapse, which should be released in late 2009.

Eminem stated:

"A lot of people were expecting Relapse to drop last year, I was one of them. Then Dr. Dre and I went back in the studio in September for a few days, and that turned into six months. We were on such a roll; we wound up with a ton of new music produced by Dre. Putting out Relapse 2 will let everyone get all of the best stuff."

Oscar-winner Eminem, 36, has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide and recently reached number four in the UK with Crack A Bottle, featuring mentor Dr. Dre and Eminem's protege 50 Cent.

Read more @ ContactMusic.com