Eminem has 'no desire' for fame

Eminem with Zane Lowe in the United States Read a transcript of the interview

Eminem says he has no desire to reach the heights of fame he achieved at his commercial peak.

Speaking to Zane Lowe, the rapper confirmed he had been working with Dr Dre for the last five months on a new album, Relapse.

But he said he only wanted the record "to remind people how I rap".

He said: "There's no desire to be that big again. Whatever happens, I'll take it, but that's definitely not what I'll be recording the songs for."

The full interview with Zane Lowe and Eminem is available now as a download

'Lots of material'

Reflecting on his achievements as an artist, Eminem said he felt "pretty good about what I've done."

The rapper added: "I've accomplished enough with the music that I haven't had to go out there and do other things to over-saturate.

I feel like a spoilt rapper. I get to pick and choose everything

"That's probably what I take pride in most.

"But, at the end of the day, it's kind of catch 22. I love the attention but I don't like too much of it."

The star, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, has been on hiatus since 2005.

But he revealed he was "excited" about his forthcoming record and said he couldn't wait to "get back out there".

"For the last five months I've been working pretty much straight with Dre.

"There's going to be a lot of material, more so than I've had on an album with him producing before."

'Insane'

The rapper admitted that Dr Dre, who has worked on all of Eminem's studio albums since 1997, had taken the helm because he didn't want to have to worry about the production side.

"Obviously his beats are insane but aside from that I can rap, I can write and not worry about what the beat has to sound like and how loud a snare drum is," he said.

"All those things are taken care of for me.
"I feel like a spoilt rapper. I get to pick and choose everything."

Despite the new record, Eminem said he had no desire to tour any time soon.

"I'm not saying I will or I won't but I'm not ready to tour at least at this moment right now," he said.

The star cancelled a series of European tour dates, including a show at Slane Castle, in Ireland, in 2005 due to exhaustion.

Read more: Eminem - 'My life became crazy'

Rap criticism

In the interview, broadcast on Radio 1, he also criticised the state of rap since his "retirement".

"I don't mean everything about rap is crap. I just mean the majority of it," he said.

"Actually I think T.I.'s new album is great and I've been pumping that for the last two weeks every day in my car aside from my own stuff as I record it.

"Andre 3000 is also incredible. So I just mean rap in general."

The rapper is set to publish his memoirs Eminem: The Way I Am on 21 October.