Eminem Confirming Official Release Date for 'Relapse'

Eminem has confirmed that he will bring forward his highly-anticipated sixth studio album "Relapse" in U.S. on May 19. He also announces that first single off the record "Crack a Bottle" and its accompanying music video will see a simultaneous release on April 7.

Beside revealing "Relapse" release date, Eminem also shares he has started working on a follow up to the new album. Tentatively calling it "Relapse 2", he plots to drop the effort before the end of the year and will once again work with Dr. Dre.

"A lot of people were expecting Relapse to drop last year," Eminem says in a press release. "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."

Eminem has sold more than 75,000,000 albums worldwide. His previous studio album "Encore", reached number one and dominated the charts in late 2004. Certified quadruple platinum and spinning off four Top 40 Hot 100 hits, the Grammy-nominated effort has sold more than 11,000,000 copies around the globe.