Eminem has been handed the ultimate compliment from his rapper pals Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo - they've hailed him as the "godfather of hip-hop".

50 Cent's G-Unit bandmates have been left in awe of the rap superstar's popularity after Eminem made it five weeks atop the U.S. albums chart on Wednesday with his comeback record Recovery.

The controversial rapper racked up first week sales of 741,000, earning him his sixth consecutive number one on the Billboard 200, while his Rihanna song Love The Way You Lie has topped the singles chart for a second week.

Banks insists Eminem's success is down to his "cult" fan base and he's impressed at how the superstar has managed to keep in touch with his devotees throughout his personal problems.

He tells MTV News, "I know he's happy and I'm happy for him. It's big. Em has a cult following and they ain't (sic) gonna turn their backs on him...

"He brings you into his life. You know about his wife, his kids, his best friend. On that last album (Relapse), he touched on a lot of those topics and other personal things he had going on, too. A lot of people can relate to it. I feel like his music is getting more and more powerful. The messages are bigger."

And Yayo is convinced Eminem has reaffirmed his status as a rap icon with his latest release topping charts around the world.

He says, "Eminem is like the godfather of the hip-hop game. In a time like this, when records are not selling, he's the only one that is selling. You know, Drake and all the other ones (did well), but Em did (close to) 800,000 (in) his first week, and he's number one for the fifth week. It's incredible.

"I think he has a faithful fan base of people who have been following him for years. They're not going to stop following him and not stop listening to his music. Em said he didn't like his last album as much as this one... But Eminem has followers that's (sic) gonna mess with him until the day he dies."