Eminem's estranged father dead at 67

Author: Eugene Robinson

Source of Photo: Tone Deaf

Eminem's biological father, Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr, died earlier this week from a heart attack in Fort Wayne, Indiana according to family members and neighbors. 

Eminem - who is named after his father, never kept quiet about sharing his grudge about how his father and never meeting him in person. Songs like "My Name Is" and "Cleanin' Out My Closet" are two examples of songs where the Grammy-winning artist raps about his hate and disdain for his father. 

Em’s mother, Debbie Nelson-Mathers, explains in her 2008 memoir “My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem” that she married at an early age of 15 and Bruce Jr was 22 years old, and they had welcomed Marshall III into the family two years later. They ended up splitting because Bruce Jr allegedly became abusive shortly after Shady was born. Bruce Jr left to California and had two more kids while Em and his mother moved to Detroit. 

The 46-year-old rapper has mentioned in previous interviews that when he would write letters to his father as a kid, but they always came back with a “return to sender” stamp on the envelope. His dad would even call some family members but Em never actually talked to his father on the phone. 

We are still waiting for a response from Eminem about his father’s death.