After a lengthy period away from the spotlight, Eminem is set to return with his new Dr. Dre-produced album Relapse. “For probably the past five months pretty much straight I’ve been working with Dre,” he announced earlier this month, before dropping the first taster for the album in the form of “I’m Having a Relapse.”

But now Eminem has turned his attention to the forthcoming presidential election, announcing: “I’ll vote for Barack." Speaking with characteristic frankness to DJ Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1, he said: “I know we are going into a recession. Pardon the cliché but we need something to change. I think Barack would be a breath of fresh air, to get in there and actually get what’s left of the Bush administration out the door."

An official release date for Relapse hasn’t yet been set, but it’s thought that it could come out before the end of the year.