Is Eminem headed for retirement — or just taking a break? Earlier this month, reports from his hometown of Detroit quoted sources as saying the 32-year-old rapper would play his last concert at Slane Castle in Dublin, Ireland, on Sept. 17, at the end of “Anger Management” tour.

In a posting on its Web site, MTV quotes Eminem as saying, “I’m not retiring,” and also denying that “Encore” is his last album.

Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, is quoted as saying: “When I say I’m taking a break, I’m taking a break from my music to go in the studio and produce my other artists and put their albums out.”

He is also quoted as saying, “When I know my next move, I’ll tell everyone my next move. Not some reporter who writes a story about `This is Eminem’s last album.’ I never said (`Encore’) was my last album.”

Phone messages and e-mails left with the rapper’s publicist by The Associated Press hadn’t been returned Monday.

Eminem has won nine Grammys, including best rap album for “The Slim Shady LP,” “The Marshall Mathers LP” and “The Eminem Show.” He won an Oscar for the song “Lose Yourself” from the 2002 film “8 Mile,” in which he also starred.

Credit: AP