The song, "We as Americans" ended up on a bonus CD accompanying the "Encore" album. "Encore" was released in 2004 and became another chart-topping leader, driven by the single "Just Lose It", which disrespects pop singer Michael Jackson. On October 12 of the same year, a week after the release of "Just Lose It", Jackson was invited to a radio show in Los Angeles where he expressed his displeasure with the music video because it parodies the trial for child abuse, plastic surgeries, and the incident in which Michael's hair caught fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in 1984. Many of Jackson's supporters and friends commented on the video, including Stevie Wonder, who said that the video "is like kicking someone who is already on the ground" and "is idiocy". Steve Harvey also stated, "Eminem has lost his ghetto pass. We want the pass back". He also said he was not pleased with the way he chose to show the black community. The music video also makes fun of Pee-Wee Herman, MC Hammer and Madonna.
In contrast, the comedian "Weird Al" Yankovic made a protest to Eminem in the song "Couch Potato", in which he parodies the international success of "Lose Yourself" of the movie "8 Mile". Yankovic said: "Last year, Eminem forced me to stop the production of the parody video of "Lose Yourself" because he thought it would be detrimental to his image and his career. So the irony of the situation with Michael is not lost to me." Black Entertainment Television was the first channel to ask to stop displaying the video. However, MTV announced that it would continue to display "Just Lose It." President Raymond "Benzino" Scott of the "Source" magazine, wanted not only the video to be removed, but also the song from the album, and a public apology from Eminem to Jackson, which did not occur. In 2007, Jackson and Sony bought "Famous Music LLC" from Viacom. The acquisition thus gave them rights to the songs from Shakira, Beck and Eminem among others.
Despite the comic issue of the first single, "Encore" had along with him serious subject tracks, such as the song "Mosh". On October 25, 2004, a week before the United States presidential election, Eminem released the music video for "Mosh" on the internet. The song highlights a strong anti-Bush message, with parts like "Fuck Bush" and "This weapon of mass destruction that we call the president." The video shows Eminem gathering an army of people, including rapper Lloyd Banks, presented as victims of the Bush administration and were taken to the White House. However, at the moment the weapons break, it is revealed that people are there only to vote, and it ends with the words "Vote Tuesday November 2!" on the screen. After Bush was re-elected, Eminem modified the video, with demonstrators invading while the president was giving a lecture. In 2004 he also launched a satellite music channel, Shade 45, on Sirius XM radio, which was described by his manager as "essentially a destination to get and hear things that other people aren't playing."
In 2005, many musical experts predicted that Eminem was thinking of ending his career after six years and albums with several certifications. This began in 2005, when a double album was about to be released under the name of "The Funeral". Subsequently, it was revealed that the album was a compilation of greatest hits, and was sold under the name "". The album was released by Aftermath Entertainment in December 2005, and sold almost 441,000 copies in the first week in the U.S. It was Eminem's fourth consecutive album to be number one on the Billboard Hot 100. He was certified as platinum twice by the RIAA.
In July 2005, the "Detroit Free Press" published that this would be the final stage of Eminem's career, and that he would be more interested in becoming a producer or executive of a record label. On the same day of the release of his compilation, Eminem denied that he would be retiring through the radio "Mojo in the Morning" of Detroit, but stated that he would give a break in his career:
In 2006, Eminem released a new compilation called "", to help the growth of the newly created Shady Records label. Eminem was the subject of the book "100 People Who Are Screwing Up America" by Bernard Goldberg, in which he was ranked in position 58. Goldberg quoted a column of Bob Herbert from "The New York Times", who said, "In the world of Eminem, all women are whores and he is eager to rape them and then murder them". Goldberg also cited the song "No One's Iller" from "The Slim Shady EP" as an example of misogyny. In the summer of 2005, Eminem announced a tour called Anger Management Tour, featuring artists 50 Cent, G-Unit, Lil Jon, D12, Obie Trice and The Alchemist. In August, the European part of the tour was cancelled, as Eminem claimed that he had entered a drug rehab clinic for sleeping pill addiction treatment.
In September 2007, Eminem spoke with 50 Cent at the Hot 97 radio station in New York City about his rumored retirement, and if he was going to release more content. In response he said, "I'm always working. I'm always in the studio. It feels good right now, the energy of the label. For a while, I didn't want to go back to the studio... I went through some personal things. Now I'm coming out of those personal things and it feels good."
Eminem made his first appearance in a year in September 2008 at his radio station, the Shade 45, where he said: "I'm concentrating on my own stuff right now—just bangin' out tracks. The more I keep producing, the better it seems I get. I start knowing stuff, learning the boards like the back of my hands." In an interview with Billboard in December 2008, he revealed that the album would be released in the spring on 2009, be called "Relapse," and most of the tracks would be produced by Dr. Dre.
In a statement on March 5, 2009, Eminem stated that he would release two albums that year. The first single, "We Made You", was released in April. "Relapse", the first of the announced Records, was officially released on May 19, but did not achieve the sale success as in the previous four albums. However, Eminem still received positive reviews for his return to hip hop. On November 19, he announced the release of "" on December 21. It was a relaunch of "Relapse" with the addition of seven bonus tracks, including "Forever" and "Taking My Ball".
On April 14, 2010, Eminem said there was no "Relapse 2". Although his followers thought he was not releasing an album, he had changed its title to "Recovery." “I had originally planned for Relapse 2 to come out last year, but as I kept recording and working with new producers, the idea of a sequel to Relapse started to make less and less sense to me, and I wanted to make a completely new album. The music on Recovery came out very different from Relapse, and I think it deserves its own title."
"Recovery" was released on June 18, 2010. It sold 741,000 copies during its first week in the US, topping the "Billboard" 200 chart. The album also topped the charts in several other countries. "Recovery" remained atop the "Billboard" 200 chart for five weeks out of seven total.
Its first single, "Not Afraid", was released on April 29, and its music video was released on June 4. "Not Afraid" was followed by "Love the Way You Lie". "Recovery" was the best-selling album worldwide in 2010, with over 3.4 million copies sold.