Eminem's Ninth Studio Album is Reportedly on The Way

The ever-reclusive (and now bearded) Eminem has been making the rounds lately. The man formally known as Marshall Mathers has popped up on Instagram with 2 Chainz, and he can also be seen in a new viral video wishing 50 Cent a happy birthday. Does any of this mean new music is on the way?

In advance of the Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine’s HBO documentary, The Defiant Ones (which premieres tonight at 9 p.m. on HBO), director Allen Hughes revealed some information about what would potentially be Eminem’s ninth studio album.

“Dre still records,” Hughes told Uproxx. “People don’t know this: Dre records every day. Literally, he’s in there recording songs every day. He’s like Picasso in that way. He’s always painting. Right now he’s producing, in the 11th hour, a track for Eminem’s latest album. So Dre’s still real active in music, you know? But I hear what you’re saying. It’s the truth.”

It’s important to note that no one from Em’s camp or Aftermath/Interscope has mentioned anything about an upcoming album. So this news from Hughes—whose previous credits include Menace II Society and From Hell—are the first mention of a potential Eminem album under some type of deadline requiring additional touches from Dr. Dre “in the 11th hour.”

Hughes is a more than credible source, since he likely logged extensive time with Dr. Dre and Iovine for The Defiant Ones. And his observation that Dre still records every day matches similar statements from Bishop Lamont, Stat Quo and others.