Eminem fans know that he and his father were never close. Eminem (real name Marshall Bruce Mathers III) has been open in his lyrics about his disdain for his dad, who was not an active presence in his childhood. Now, TMZ reports that Eminem’s father, Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr., has passed away at 67 years old, after having a heart attack near Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Mathers attempted to reconnect with his son in 2001, when he told Mirror, “I desperately want to meet my son and tell him that I love him. I’m not interested in his money. I just want to talk to him. I want him to know that I’m here for him if he lets me back into his life.” Also around that time, Eminem reportedly said, “I don’t know anything about my dad and I don’t care.”
Eminem has rapped about his father on multiple occasions, like on “Cleanin’ Out My Closet”: “My f—-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-ckin’ wished he would die / I look at Hailie, and I couldn’t picture leavin’ her side.” He also said on “My Name Is,” “And by the way, when you see my dad / Tell him that I slit his throat in this dream I had.” Meanwhile, “The Way I Am” features the lyric, “Sometimes I just feel like my father, I hate to be bothered.”
