Eminem’s mom, Debbie Nelson, dead at 69

Although Debbie Nelson's relationship with her son was often toxic and dramatic, they were able to occasionally find kind words about each other.

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.

“Will the real Marshall Mathers please stand up / And take responsibility for his actions?” she asked in the spoken word track.