Tuesday marks exactly three years since Eminem released his seventh studio album Relapse, but the rapper is slowly gearing up for his latest record.

While details of his album still remain scarce, Eminem was photographed in the studio with Kendrick Lamar in June, comedian Chris Rock in May and with Big Sean in April. All three appearances have sparked rumors that they may appear on his next album.

Rumors also began swirling that his eighth album will hit stores on July 2. These rumors originated from Channel 955, a Detroit radio station, who later apologized stating that it was unsure of the album's release.

Eminem's good friend and producer Mr. Porter also tweeted a little hint of the release date.

A fan asked the former member of the Detroit rap group D12 if Eminem's album will be released before his European tour and Mr. Porter tweeted on June 2, "That I doubt, but who knows."

Still, the album has been confirmed by both Dr. Dre and Shady Records President Paul Rosenberg to be released sometime this year.

"Em's finishing up his project," the rapper's long-time mentor Dr. Dre, who doubles as CEO of Aftermath Entertainment, told the California radio station Power 106 in March.

The album was initially confirmed prior to that by Rosenberg in February.

"We fully expect to be releasing a new Eminem album in 2013," he told Billboard. "He's been working on it for some time."

Rosenberg also cited a post-Memorial Day release but never revealed an exact date. He focused on Eminem's upcoming tour as well, stating that the two are "trying to see what else lines up."

The rapper will be going on tour in Europe this August along with Kendrick Lamar and Tyler the Creator. The short tour kicks off on Aug. 15 in Belgium and ends on Aug. 25 in the United Kingdom. See a full list of dates here.

During his interview with Power 106, Dr. Dre, who has been in music for almost 30 years, also spoke about his own upcoming project.

"For me man I just got inspired again to go back in the studio so I'm really just having fun with life and having fun being creative and just trying some new and different things with myself," he said.

This could perhaps mean a future collaboration with Eminem again. The two memorably worked together on the Grammy Award winning single Forgot About Dre in 2001.

Eminem is also in the studio working on 50 Cent's upcoming fifth studio album Street King Immortal and Skylar Grey's debut Don't Look Down.

Tags
Eminem