Eminem changed the rules regarding album’s traditional Tuesday
releases in the past, when the MC would push up the date by weeks after his projects
were bootlegged or leaked online.

Now, with his forthcoming Recovery set having hit the Web
two weeks early, the rapper has reportedly decided to keep the same June 22 release
date.

According to XXLmag.com, a representative for Em confirmed the
date would stay the same despite the album being available illegally.

An Interscope Records spokesperson was unavailable at press time
when contacted by MTV News.

Recovery arrived
online and via blogs earlier this week, following the lead single “Not
Afraid” and the Pink-assisted “Won’t Back Down”.

The first video from the project, “Not Afraid,”
premiered Sunday and departs from the rapper’s usual satirical efforts.

Last month, Eminem revealed the tracklisting for Recovery,
and the rapper chose to work with Lil Wayne, Pink, and Rihanna for the project.

In the past, he’s kept his circle of collaborators short, mostly
limited to the Shady/Aftermath camp, including Dr. Dre and 50 Cent.

For this collection, however, Eminem chose to work with a bevy of
new contributors, such as producers Just Blaze, Jim Johnson, and DJ Khalil.

“A lot of good music is being made [by Eminem],” Just
Blaze told MTV News in April. “He’s really back spitting. The wordplay is
crazy, the metaphors are crazy. He’s really back on his game. He had his ups,
he had his downs, he’s back way, way, way up. This is definitely going to be up
there with the best of his albums, for sure, for sure. The fact that he’s
branched out working with a lot of different people now, collaborating in a lot
of different ways that he never has before, I think he’s going to surprise a
lot of people.”  (Via MTV News)