Debbie Nelson, the mother of legendary rapper Eminem, has died at the age of 69. His relationship with his mother also served as inspiration for some of his hit songs over the years.
Eminem’s long-time representative, Dennis Dennehy, confirmed Nelson’s passing in an email on Tuesday. Despite Nelson having battled cancer, an official cause of death was not confirmed by Eminem’s team.
Debbie Nelson was born in 1955 on a Kansas military base, and her rocky relationship with her son, Eminem, has been no secret since the rapper became a global star.
Eminem’s lyrics reflected on how troubled his relationship with his mother, Debbie Nelson, really was
Some of Eminem’s biggest hits have shone a light on what the rapper’s relationship with his mother was like. A key example is the 2002 hit Cleaning Out My Closet, as there is a lyric that says, “Witnessin’ your mama poppin’ prescription pills in the kitchen…My whole life I was made to believe I was sick when I wasn’t.”
Another example is perhaps the single most iconic line of Eminem’s career as a rapper. In a lyric from his hit Lose Yourself, which won an Oscar alongside his movie 8 Mile, he alluded to his mom’s spaghetti.
In Lose Yourself, Eminem sings, “His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti, He’s nervous, but on the surface, he looks calm and ready…” The song won a Grammy for best rap song of 2004.
The defamation lawsuits
Debbie Nelson sued her son Marshall Bruce Mathers, widely known as Eminem, for defamation, over statements he made about her in speaking with various publications. She also released a 2008 book, titled, My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem, in which she attempted to tell her side of the story.
Her book provided some previously unknown insights into Eminem’s early life, with Nelson most notably saying her son had forgotten the good times they had.
One of the key lines that reflects this was reported by the Associated Press, as an extract from her book reads: “Marshall (Eminem) and I were so close that friends and relatives commented that it was as if the umbilical cord had never been cut.”
This book also provided information on her own childhood, which she described as very violent, with Nelson crediting her grandmother as the one woman who gave her love in her dysfunctional family.
Another infamous incident involving Debbie Nelson was in 2004, when she was dragged from her car by a 16-year-old. This resulted in her suffering bruises and a broken foot. The teenager was sentenced to more than four years in prison.