On May 12, 2009, Universal Musical Publishing Group officially announced the signing of the multi-platinum artist/songwriter/producer, Eminem to an exclusive, worldwide publishing agreement. His sixth studio album, Relapse is due in stores on May 19, 2009 and is included in on the deal. Already his debut single, “Crack a Bottle,” has shot from No.78 on the Billboard Hot 100 to No.1 which has set a new record. This is Eminem’s first studio album in five years and features producer Dr. Dre and UMPG writer Mark Batson on many tracks.

For those of you who do not know about Universal Music Publishing Group, it is the industry’s leading global music publishing operation representing music from every genre and many of the world’s top songwriters. They include a variety of artists, including Beastie Boys, 50 Cent, Mariah Carey, R. Kelly, Cold Play, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Ciara, Justin Timberlake, and many more. Now most recently, Eminem will be joining the roster of talented artists included at UMPG.

“We Made You,” is the single most recently released and became Eminem’s second top ten in a row on the Billboard Hot 100, which also debuted at No. 3 on the Hot Digital Songs. Songs set to be released soon will be “3AM,” “Old Time’s Sake,” and “Beautiful.”

David Renzer, Chairman & CEO of UMPG had this to say:

“Eminem continues to be an indelible and iconic musical presence around the world. I am so pleased that we will be working with his manager, Paul Rosenberg and the Interscope team on continuing to bring his amazing music to a worldwide audience.”

His manager, Paul Rosenberg added:

“We are excited about the future of our continued relationship with UMPG, and we look forward to many more years of chart-topping success together,”

Eminem is definitely doing his thing right now. As one of the most slept on Hip-Hop artists in the game, he has been one of the best selling music artists of this decade; even selling over 70 million albums. His sequel to Relapse, entitled Relapse 2, is set to be released later on this year. Keep doing your thing Em!

DMX Freed From Jail After a 90-Day Sentence?

Supposedly, rapper DMX has been released from an Arizona jail after his 90-days of being imprisoned on animal cruelty and various drug charges. No official statement has been released yet, although X’s rep has confirmed his departure. According to All Hip Hop:

“Yonkers Hip-Hop star DMX is free after serving over 90 days in jail on drug, fraud, and animal cruelty charges, a representative said. The rapper was released from Tent City, aka the Maricopa County Jail, late yesterday (May 13) afternoon.”

There have been calls to both X’s lawyer, Richard Corde, and Tent City Jail and neither have responded. Hopefully, this is one rumor that is true. We’re rooting for you X!