Eminem is currently in a race to finalize his album, The Marshall Mather LP 2, which is slated for release November 4. The “Lose Yourself” rapper admits that this project has taken and toll on him because of the time pressure demands.

“"Right now, I'm probably working harder than I've ever worked in my life… They (label bosses) keep telling me a different day (for deadline),” Eminem told the Rolling Stone. "Aside from around the time of The Eminem Show (in 2002), when I was also doing the 8 Mile movie and soundtrack and score and s**t like that, this is probably the equivalent of that, but all focused on the record."

Eminem also says that the expectations surrounding the project have added pressure to the track selection process.

"Calling it The Marshall Mathers Lap 2, obviously I knew that there might be certain expectations,” he says. “I wouldn't want to call it that just for the sake of calling it that. I had to make sure that I had the right songs – and just when you think you got it, you listen and you're like, 'F**k, man! I feel like it needs this or that,' to paint the whole picture."

The MM LP 2, the follow-up to 2000's original The Marshall Mathers LP, features collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, and more.

This story is from the November 7th, 2013, issue of Rolling Stone.