The · Peanut · Gallery

"I'm not retiring," Eminem said this week in an interview with MTV News. "When I say I'm taking a break, I'm taking a break from my music to go in the studio and produce my other artists and put their albums out. That's called taking a break for me."
He added: "When I know my next move, I'll tell everyone my next move. Not some reporter who writes a story about 'This is Eminem's last album.' I never said ["Encore"] was my last album. I never said anything yet. I don't know what I'm doing yet. Nothing is definite, you know what I'm sayin'? Nothing is written in stone."

Last week, in a story that quoted mostly unnamed sources, the Detroit Free Press reported that Eminem could retire as a solo artist following his Sept. 17 concert in Dublin, Ireland, which is the last show on his current itinerary.

The Free Press story said that the 33-year-old rapper, who is the best-selling artist in his genre's history, feels he's got nothing left to prove as a rapper, and is "trapped by musical expectations."

Eminem is currently on the road with 50 Cent and others with the Anger Management 3 Tour.