EMINEM’s dad has died at 67 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Indiana.
Marshall Bruce Mathers fathered the rapper, whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, at 24, but left when he was still a baby.
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Eminem’s dad, Marshall Bruce Mathers, died of a heart attack
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Eminem’s fraught relationship with his dad inspired many of the star’s songs, including hit Cleanin’ Out My ClosetCredit: Getty – Contributor
The two had a strained relationship throughout Eminem’s childhood and had been estranged for years.
Mathers married the rapper’s mother, Debbie, when he was 22 and she was just 15.
Eminem was born in Missouri two years later, but his father left when he was six months old and moved to California.
Debbie and her child then moved around frequently, usually staying with family members, before settling in a working class neighbourhood in Detroit.
As a teenager, Eminem wrote letters to his father but his mother told him they all came back marked “return to sender”.
He said Mathers would sometimes call while family members were babysitting, but would never speak to him on the phone.
Eminem was often bullied and spent three years in ninth grade due to truancy and poor grades, later dropping out of high school at 17.
He maintained an interest in English and comic books, ultimately finding success at 26 with the 1997 release of the Slim Shady LP.
His fraught relationship with his dad inspired many of the star’s songs, including his hit Cleanin’ Out My Closet.
In one of the song’s verses, Eminem says: “My fa***t father must’ve had his panties up in a bunch / ‘Cause he split, I wonder if he even kissed me goodbye /
No, I don’t, on second thought, I just f***in’ wished he would die /
I look at Hailie [his own daughter], and I couldn’t picture leavin’ her side”
‘PLEASE GET IN TOUCH’
In 2001, Mathers published an open letter to his son in a newspaper claiming Debbie had kept the two apart.
“You think I dumped you and your mother and never came looking for you,” he wrote.
“You’re convinced I’m a drunk who never answered any of your letters.
“Well, I want you to read this and realise you’ve been fed lies all your life.”
He added he was not just getting in touch because of his son’s success.
“I work hard, I have money. I don’t need or want your money.
“But the one ambition left in my life is to give you a hug and tell you I’ve always loved you.”
He went on to say he had been delighted when Debbie had become pregnant, deny that he had been abusing drink and drugs at the time, and assert that it had actually been Debbie who had run out on him, taking the couple’s baby with her.
He closed saying: “I’d get on a plane right now, this second, and go anywhere in the world if you’d meet with me.
“Please get in touch.”
But Eminem later told the Mirror: “My father? I never knew him. I’ve never even seen a picture of him.
“I heard my dad is trying to get in contact with me, but not now. I never got one letter.”
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Mathers with a magazine featuring an article about his son
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Eminem attends the New York premiere of his film Southpaw in July 2015Credit: Getty Images – Getty
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Eminem poses in his dressing room with his ‘Best Hip Hop’ and ‘Global Icon’ during the MTV EMA’s 2013Credit: Getty – Contributor
