Debbie Nelson, the mother of rapper Eminem, has died. She was 69.
A representative for the rapper confirmed the death to multiple publications, including Variety and People, saying she died from complications of lung cancer.
Nelson and her son were known for their turbulent relationship over the years. While she was the subject of one of her son’s most famous song lyrics — “His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy / There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti” from 2002’s Lose Yourself — plenty of his lyrics directed at his mother weren’t quite so innocuous.
In fact, at one point, Nelson sued her famous son, reports Variety, winning US$10 million after arguing she had been defamed in the 1999 hit My Name Is (“I just found out my mom does more dope than I do,” Eminem rapped.)
Nelson raised Eminem (real name Marshall Mathers) and his half-brother, Nathan, as a single mother after Eminem’s dad, Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr., walked out on the family shortly after Eminem was born.
As his star rose, he mined his fraught relationship with his mom for his lyrics, accusing her of using drugs and being neglectful and the “crazy one” in various songs, including Kill You, Cleanin’ Out My Closet and My Mom.
But he wasn’t the only one to put words to song over the disappointing relationship; in 2000, Nelson released her own diss-track, directed at her son, titled Dear Marshall.
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“Will the real Marshall Mathers please stand up / And take responsibility for his actions?” she asked in the spoken word track.
She also attempted to clear her name with a book in 2008 titled My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem.
“‘My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem’ is her rebuttal to these widely believed lies — a poignant story of a single mother who wanted the world for her son, only to see herself defamed and shut out when he got it,” reads the book’s description.
Despite the animosity, however, Eminem occasionally found softer words when speaking about Nelson.
“Even though we don’t really speak, she is my mother, I do love her,” he told BET in 2011, according to E! News, adding, “and I think I got a better understanding of what she was going through or what she may be going through.”
Two years later, he dropped the track Headlights, with an apology to his mom.
“’Cause to this day we remain estranged, and I hate it though / ‘Cause you ain’t even get to witness your grandbabies grow,” he rapped. “But I’m sorry, mama for ‘Cleanin’ Out My Closet’ / At the time I was angry, rightfully? Maybe so / Never meant that far to take it though / ‘Cause now I know it’s not your fault, and I’m not makin’ jokes / That song I no longer play at shows / And I cringe every time it’s on the radio.”
More recently, Nelson sent her well wishes when her son was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
“Marshall, I could not let this day go by without congratulating you on your induction to the Hall of Fame,” she said in part of a video shared by the social media account The Shadyverse.
“I love you very much. I knew you’d get there. And it’s been a long ride.”
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