AceShowbiz -

Notwithstanding with his extended absence from music industry, Eminem has won an online poll of Best Rapper Alive conducted by Vibe magazine that also lists Jay-Z, Nas, Kanye West, T.I. and Rick Ross among its heavy contenders. More than 920,000 votes were cast in the contest, held for three months long, beginning on July 21, 2008.

Triumphing over the other candidates, Eminem receives 69 percent of the votes in the finals. He, thus, will be rolled out in the magazine's November 2008 issue which will feature presidential hopeful Barack Obama on its cover.

"It's obviously an honor to have won the fans' support by being voted the Best Rapper Alive," Em said in a statement released Tuesday, October 7. "I don't think that there is any one rapper that is simply the best, though. Everyone who was in consideration and many others are the best at certain things, and at what they do. But since Vibe's offering the distinction, hell yeah, I'll accept!"

In addition to the Best Rapper Alive predicate, Eminem also received praise from Vibe's music editor, Sean Fennessey, who considered him as "one of the most successful MCs of all time, he's also one of the most beloved. The proof is in the voting."

Having no new album since his last one, "Encore" in 2004, Eminem currently is finishing tracks for his untitled next album, which may be released before the year ends.