Bruno Mars beat Eminem in rap battle

Los Angeles - Bruno Mars has joked his collaboration with Eminem came about after he beat "Slim Shady" in a rap battle.

Mars teamed up with the rapper and Royce da 5'9" - who, as a duo, go by the name Bad Meets Evil - on the track Lighters and claims the track came after he challenged the Detroit musician's lyrical ability.

Speaking about Lighters, he quipped to MTV: "It was a freestyle battle. I said, 'Yo, Em, if I beat you, you're gonna have to do a song with me!' I shut him down right then and there."

Along with working with the Lose Yourself singer, Bruno is also excited about his next solo track, which he has recently recorded and is "extremely proud of".

He said: "I'm definitely thinking about what's next. I've got a song that I just wrote that I'm extremely proud of and I worked really hard on, and it's gonna come out soon.

"But this is just the very beginning and there's a lot more to come."