"Over the holidays, Marshall Mathers, a.k.a. Eminem, was under a doctor's care at a Detroit-area hospital for complications due to pneumonia," Dennis Dennehy, Eminem's publicist, was quoted as saying to TMZ. "He has since been released and is doing well recovering at home."

Eminem has mostly kept a low profile over the past couple of years. In August of 2005, he canceled the European leg of a tour with fellow Detroit rapper 50 Cent and checked himself into rehab for treatment of an addiction to sleep medication, according to a statement his record company issued at the time.

In July of 2005, The Detroit Free Press claimed that Em was considering ending his solo career, a claim he subsequently denied, but added that he was planning to take a break in order to produce other artists.