It was so strained that way back in 1999, well before even the aforementioned song was dropped, Debbie sued her own son for a hefty $10,000,000 under accusations that he slandered her.
In fact due to him referencing her in such a manner, the relationship between them became super strained. In fact Eminem’s back and forth with his mom resulted in what we would presume were a couple of firsts. For instance, he was the first rapper – or at least the first prominent one – to refer to his mother as a “bit*h” in song – something which Eminem has done many times over.Īnd as opposed to his absentee dad, his beef with his mother has something to do with his claims of her being a bad mom in general, drug addiction and all. And based on what has been detailed above, you would think that Eminem would be kinder to her. But the truth is, at least lyrically, the rapper has called her out even more so than his dad. That’s more or less the concept upon which the chorus of his 2002 hit “ Cleanin’ Out My Closet” is based. Said mother’s maiden name is Debbie Nelson. So by the looks of things Marshall Mather Jr., who passed away at the age of 67, was never a direct beneficiary of his son’s monumental success. And relatedly Eminem rarely, if ever, referenced his father favorably in song. And indeed his main gripe with his pops was the fact that he deserted the family, forcing Em’s mom to raise him on her own. not as an infant). This remained true even after Eminem blew up, as he didn’t appear overly receptive to reports that his father attempting to contact him after he became rich and famous. Mathers III did not grow up with his father and may have never met him during a stage of his life he could actually remember (i.e. Joseph, Missouri. And as alluded to earlier, fans of the rapper already know that he’s never been too fond of his dad, Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr. Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr.Įminem was born Marshall Bruce Mathers III on 17 October 1972 in St. So in a way, he contributed to it being chic to express one’s innermost feelings in public, which of course is a prerequisite for successful reality entertainment. "Evil Twin" is more or less a direct attack at Shady's persona in 2000, a different character than exists in his own mind now, and contains his most telling lines of the whole album: "Sometimes I listen and revisit them old albums/Often as I can and skim through all them bitches/To make sure I keep up with my competition/Hoarder of beats, hoarder of rhymes/Borderline genius who's bored of his lines/And that sort of defines where I'm at and the way I feel now.In fact he was perhaps the first reality musician in American history. And what we mean by that is whereas, even prior to his ascension during the latter 1990s, rappers already had the tendency to reveal aspects of their personal lives and histories in song, Em was the first to really get intimate about the relationship with his moms, his wife, his dad, his daughter and what have you. But for the most part, the way he addresses his own demons-particularly on "Bad Guy" and album closer "Evil Twin," both of which see him battling alter ego Slim Shady-see Em delving into his intense issue within himself, a dichotomy which only he can articulate with such an uncomfortable clarity. There are still problems with some of his lyrical content: the overt homophobia is still there, even though it's addressed (albeit briefly) on album opener "Bad Guy," and at this point it feels pointless to take issue with the violent content in his words.