Although Detroit’s most infamous rapper has been somewhat quiet lately, his latest album has been anything but – it flew out of the gates last Tuesday and shot to the top of the Billboard album chart, selling 441,000 copies in its first week.

The album, ‘Curtain Call’, is a greatest-hits collection that includes 14 well-known radio hits, plus three new songs.

All of Eminem’s previous albums, with the exception of The Slim Shady LP in ’99, were number ones, as were ‘Eight Mile’ and both D12 albums.

Encore, the rapper’s 2004 release, was likely the last album featuring “Eminem the rapper”. Rumors have been flying since last summer that Marshall Mathers III plans to retire as a solo musician; allegedly, he wants to concentrate on the behind-the-scenes aspects of music, like writing and producing.