Eminem throwing himself into work after estranged mother Debbie Nelson's death at 69
LOS ANGELES, CALFORNIA: Eminem is throwing himself into his music — hard.
Just days after the death of his estranged mother Debbie Nelson, the rap icon isn’t slowing down. Instead, he’s hitting the stage for a series of shows in the Middle East, kicking off in Abu Dhabi on December 7.
On Wednesday, December 4, Eminem hopped on Instagram to hype his fans for the upcoming show, “‘Well if you want Shady, this is what I’ll give ya…’ MIDDLE EAST 2024 RUN kicks off this week. Pull up!!!”
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Debbie, 69, died after a battle with advanced lung cancer, a rep confirmed last week. While Eminem hasn’t spoken publicly about her death, their relationship — and its many ups and downs — has been the subject of headlines and lyrics for years, E! News reported.
Eminem’s relationship with estranged mother Debbie Nelson
Eminem’s history with his late mother had been complicated, to say the least. Debbie Nelson married his father, Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr, when she was just 15, and 16 months later, baby Marshall Mathers was born. The family eventually landed in Michigan, but it wasn’t exactly a picture-perfect setup.
If you’ve ever listened to 'Cleanin’ Out My Closet', you know Eminem didn’t hold back about their issues. He accused his mother Debbie of abusing prescription pills and neglecting him, claims she fiercely denied in her 2008 memoir 'My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem'.
She wrote, “What mother wants to be known as a pill-popping alcoholic who lives on welfare? None of it was true, but the fibs kept getting bigger, and ultimately Marshall and I became estranged.”
The fallout was real, and for years, their relationship seemed beyond repair. But as Eminem grew older, his perspective softened.
"I do love her and I think I got a better understanding of what she was going through or what she may be going through, now that I see myself and how I actually became," he told BET's 106 & Park in 2009. "I think that’s there a little compassion factor that goes with that."
He even apologized in his 2013 track 'Headlights', rapping, “I went in headfirst, never thinking about who, what I said hurt / In what verse, my mom probably got it the worst.”
Eminem's relationship with brother Nate Mathers
While his relationship with Debbie was messy, Eminem stepped up big time when it came to his half-brother Nathan “Nate” Mathers. Nate was thrown into foster care at just eight years old, a moment that broke Eminem’s heart.
“When he was taken away, I always said if I ever get in a position to take him, I would take him,” he told Rolling Stone back in 2004. “I tried to apply for full custody when I was 20, but I didn’t have the means.”
The memory of that day is something he’s never forgotten. “I cried just going to see him at the foster home,” he admitted. “The day he was taken away, I was the only one allowed to see him. They had come and got him out of school. He didn’t know what the f**k was going on.”
By the time Nate turned 16, Eminem became his legal guardian.
