Detroit rapper Eminem will step back up to a microphone this week, nearly two months after entering a local drug rehabilitation center for a pill addiction.
The hip-hop star is producing a pair of songs with longtime collaborator Dr. Dre, who flew into Detroit during the weekend. The two tracks will be featured as new bonus material on Eminem's upcoming greatest-hits compilation, "Curtain Call," scheduled for release Dec. 6 by Interscope Records.
The rapper had admitted himself to Brighton Hospital on Aug. 16 seeking help for a dependency on sleeping medication. He remained at the facility for three weeks, sources told the Free Press, and spent an additional three weeks in the hospital's outpatient program, with treatment wrapping up in late September.
Eminem's rehab decision followed a six-week U.S. tour that found the star struggling to sleep and forced the cancellation of several European stadium concerts. Interscope Records officials cited exhaustion and complicating medical issues.
A label spokesman did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
The two new cuts with Dr. Dre will appear on "Curtain Call" alongside what Eminem casually described in a statement as "some songs that a lot of people like," including the Oscar-winning hit "Lose Yourself" and his debut national single, "My Name Is."
News of "Curtain Call" should stem lingering online rumors of a three-disc hits compilation to be titled "The Funeral," which was envisioned to feature performances by Eminem cohorts laying to rest each of the rapper's musical personas.
But "Curtain Call," which has been planned for several months and was added to the Interscope release schedule on Monday, could mark the last release under the Eminem name, as the artist born Marshall Mathers heads into 2006 likely scaling back his solo activity. As the Free Press reported in July, Mathers has been planning a career shift that would include more behind-the-scenes production work, with 2004's "Encore" standing as the final original Eminem album.