Eminem Raised His Younger Brother After He Was Taken out of Their Mother's Care
The rapper's younger brother addressed their mother, Debbie Nelson's death on his Instagram on Dec. 3.
Published Dec. 3 2024, 2:31 p.m. ET
Since hip-hop heads first heard Eminem's debut single, "Just Don't Give A F--k," in 1998, it was obvious that the Detroit, Mich. rapper wasn't shy about using his music as his personal diary. During the Grammy winner's rise to fame, he was vocal about his tumultuous relationship with his mother, Debbie Nelson. Several of Eminem's biggest hits, including his 2002 track "Cleaning Out My Closet," addressed his harsh feelings towards Debbie.
Fortunately, Eminem and Debbie had begun mending their relationship in later years. Sadly, on Dec. 3, 2024, the rapper's rep confirmed his mother died after a battle with lung cancer.
Throughout her lifetime, Debbie raised Eminem, though he wasn't the only child in his family. Here's a look at the rapper's siblings, which includes the younger brother he took in when he had the means to do so.
Who are Eminem's siblings? The rapper became his brother, Nathan Mathers's legal guardian in 2004.
Eminem's mother gave birth to him on Oct. 17, 1972, when she was 17 years old. In 1986, 13 years later, she welcomed his half-brother, Nathan "Nate" Mathers. Though Nate and Eminem share the same last name, he was born to Debbie's then-boyfriend, Fred Samra, as his father and his namesake, Marshall Bruce Mathers, Jr., was out of the picture by the time his younger brother was born.
Eminem and Nate grew up in the same household until the "Sing for the Moment" artist became old enough to live on his own. When Nate was age 8, he was placed into foster care. Eminem was in his early 20s then, yet tried multiple times to obtain custody of his brother, to no avail.
However, once he found success with his music career, he was able to be his legal guardian in 2004. He shared that seeing his brother go through multiple foster homes wasn't the life he wanted for him.
“I watched him when he was in the foster home. He was so confused," Eminem shared in a 2004 interview with Rolling Stone. "I mean, I cried just going to see him at the foster home. 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— was going on. The same thing that had happened in my life was happening in his.”
“It was like, ‘Man, if I get in position, I’m gonna stop all this s---.’" he recalled thinking. "And I got in position and did."
Eminem's younger brother isn't his only sibling. His estranged father, who passed away of a heart attack in June 2019, also had two more children, Sarah and Michael. However, according to an April 2023 report from The Daily Mail, he has refused to have a relationship with them.
Eminem's brother said he had "hatred and mixed emotions" following their mother's death.
Eminem detailed his brother's time in foster care on his 2014 song, "Headlights." In the same song, he expressed being willing to forgive his mother and spent the rest of her life trying to get back on track. Nate also moved forward, though he rarely discussed their mother publicly. However, when Debbie died, he decided to express some of his grief via Instagram Stories.
"Hatred and mixed emotions today," Nate wrote.
While Eminem's younger brother is still processing his emotions about his mother and their relationship, the siblings seemingly have a strong bond. Nate, who grew up to be a DJ, music producer, and a husband and father, said watching his younger brother changed his life for the better.
“He was the best role model I could have had to help me be the dad that I am today," he shared on his niece and Em's daughter, Hailie Jade Scott's podcast, Just a Little Shady.
