Second coming

You know the world is going crazy," comedian and actor Chris Rock said, "when the best golfer is a black guy and the best rapper is a white guy" - whatever next? The golfer in this case was Tiger Woods.

The rapper was Eminem. Remember him? Eminem was recently voted the "best rapper alive" by readers of Vibe magazine despite his lengthy absence from the music scene.

The magazine's editor, Sean Fennessey declared: "He's the consummate rapper, incredibly skilful and thoughtful with a tremendously compelling story to tell. He was the first rapper who transcended racial consciousness to become a pop star. He's [been] one of the most iconic musical artists for a long time." First album in four years And now, guess who's back? News of Eminem's first album in four years, titled Relapse, was greeted with furore by a loyal fan base weaned on Eminem's rap style.

The rapper, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, took on the largely African-American musical form, yet managed to mix a linguistic vitality which won him fans throughout the literary world such as novelist Zadie Smith. Simultaneously he attracted widespread criticism from across the musical and social spectrum for lyrics which were accused of glorifying misogyny, homophobia and violence. His first track from his comeback album, titled Crack A Bottle, set a record for the most digital downloads in its first week. It was downloaded more than 418,000 times, beating the previous record of 367,000 set by T.I. and Rihanna's Live Your Life. The single, now the third bestselling download single in the US, featured collaborations by both Eminem's mentor Dr Dre as well as his protégé 50 Cent. It went on to unseat Kelly Clarkson at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US.

Increasingly reclusive

The artist suffered a decline in popularity with his last album, Encore, which wasn't received very warmly by critics. The album came straight after a stint in rehab prompted by an alleged addiction to sleeping pills. But it was the murder of his best friend, Proof, that stopped him in his tracks. In his autobiography released this month, Eminem admitted that it led him to become increasingly reclusive. In the meantime during his absence from the stage, his personal life took a turn for the worse, with his remarriage to his ex-wife lasting only 11 weeks before ending in a second divorce.

Simultaneously his estranged mother published a memoir calling him a liar. In addition, he reportedly spent four days in hospital last Christmas with pneumonia and heart problems and put on 30 kilos, prompting one derisive critic to declare that, "Eminem is beginning to resemble an M&M". Verdict awaited However, all is not lost. Hip-hop has suffered a decline in fortunes since Eminem's self-imposed exile. But with his highly anticipated new album produced by Dr Dre - their previous collaborations such as the Marshall Mathers LP and Eminem's debut album Slim Shady LP won widespread critical and commercial acclaim - hip-hop seems poised for the biggest thing since Eminem's first coming.

Whether he will retain his old sound, whether his profanities will still hold their shock-and-awe value, and whether it will be worth the four-year wait are all questions that will be answered in hindsight. For now though, the musical world waits with bated breath to hear what the self-acclaimed "white chocolate" has in store for them. The writer is a freelancer based in Dubai