Eminem’s recent interview from Rolling Stone Magazine reveals us interesting details about his relatives and his relationship with his beloved daughter Hailie Jade, who will be 9 on Christmas day this year.
Being asked about who was really good with him in his early childhood years, Marshall mentioned his great aunt Edna and his uncle Charles from Missouri. Both are relatives from Eminem’s paternal side.
As some of you probably know, great aunt Edna Swartz has witnessed Marshall’s very early years. She pretty much raised him as a baby during the several years absence of Debbie. Sadly, we learn from Marshall’s mouth that the old lady died about six months ago. Aunt Edna and her husband Charles were the ones to offer some stability to the little boy and to really take care of him, which is something that Marshall will never forget:
« My Aunt Edna, which would be my great-aunt Edna, and my Uncle Charles, my great-uncle Charles. This was in Missouri. They’re from my dad’s side. They took care of me a lot. My Uncle Charles passed in ’92 or ’93, and Aunt Edna passed away just six months ago. She was, like, eighty-six. They were older, but they did things with me; they let me stay the weekends there, took me to school, bought me things, let me stay and watch TV, let me cut the grass to get five dollars, took me to the mall. Between them and my Uncle Ronnie, they were my solidity… »
Aunt Edna and Uncle Charles always told Marshall that his daddy was a good person:
« We don’t know what your mother’s told you, but he was a good guy. »
Maybe true, but the relationship between Marshall and his dad has always been like inexistent. Although Marshall Mathers II called his family, he would have nothing to say to his own son:
« But a lot of times he’d call, and I’d be there — maybe I’d be on the floor coloring or watching TV — and it wouldn’t have been nothing for him to say, “Put him on the phone.” He coulda talked to me, let me know something »
Fred Samra, Nathan’s dad, seems to have been the only father figure in Marshall’s life:
« ‘Cause as far as father figures, I didn’t have any in my life. My mother had a lot of boyfriends. Some of ’em I didn’t like; some of ’em were cool. But a lot would come and go. My little brother’s dad was probably the closest thing I had to a father figure. He was around off and on for about five years. He was the dude who’d play catch, take us bowling, just do stuff that dads would do. »
Eminem also recalls some painful events that happened to him as a young adult, when his brother landed in a foster home at the age of 9 because Debbie was accused of beating Nathan:
« I was twenty-three. But when he was taken away I always said if I ever get in a position to take him, I would take him. I tried to apply for full custody when I was twenty, but I didn’t have the means. I couldn’t support him. I watched him when he was in the foster home. He was so confused. I mean, I cried just goin’ 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 fuck was goin’ on. The same thing that had happened in my life was happening in his. I had a job and a car, and me and Kim, we bounced around from house to house, tryin’ to pay rent and make ends meet. And then Kim’s niece was born, which is my niece now through marriage. Watched her bounce around from house to house — just watchin’ the cycle of dysfunction, it was like, “Man, if I get in position, I’m gonna stop all this shit.” And I got in position and did. »
But the most admirable part of the interview (you probably doubted it) is when Marshall talks about his daughter Hailie. People who know Marshall perfectly know that he cannot fake his feelings nor his emotions when he comes to talk about his daughter. Eminem’s attitude towards Hailie is full of respect and devotion towards a little girl who enlightens each of his days.
Eminem takes his role as a father very seriously and he also explains hos much difficult it was for him to explain to Hailie and her cousin Alaina (who’s been officially adopted by Marshall) what had happened to Kim lately:
« I don’t know if I’m inclined, or allowed, to say more than what is fact. In the last year, Kim has been in and out of jail and on house arrest, cut her tether off, had been on the run from the cops for quite a while. Tryin’ to explain that to my niece and my daughter was one of the hardest things I ever had to go through. You can never let a child feel like it’s her fault for what’s goin’ on. You just gotta let her know: “Mom has a problem, she’s sick, and it’s not because she doesn’t love you. She loves you, but she’s sick right now, and until she gets better, you’ve got Daddy. And I’m here. »
Eminem is taking his role as a father very seriously and he is doing his best to give Hailie the right education.
Some people have called Eminem a women beater intentionally, because of his wicked lyrics concerning Kim. We know from Debbie that Marshall was never physically violent against his ex wife. We also know that Kim used to manipulate Marshall and to take advantage of him.
People shouldn’t be amazed when Marshall claims that he teaches Hailie « it’s not right for a man to ever lay his hands on a female », he actually believes it. Eminem is smart with women in real life, he doesn’t correspond to the monster he has created in his lyrics.
Some of my readers will even be surprised to discover that Kim was the one to slap Marshall when they both had an argument, as Eminem’s former friend, DJ Rec aka Robert Claus, recalls:
« He and Kim had to fight like once a day; it was a mandatory thing. Always in the kitchen, I’d hear her smackin’ him and no matter what he wouldn’t hit her back. I hate to say it, but she kicked the shit out of him. He would never hit her. But she’s a manly chick »
I wish some people stopped spreading on the net that Eminem is a formerly « women beater ». Each element of his life tends to prove the contrary. When will people eventually get that Marshall Mathers is a nice and normal person?
People just don’t seem to get the meaning of what he calls « a love – hate relationship » when he talks about his feelings towards Kim, because their relationship seem to escape to the rules of some ordinary couples:
« It’s a love-hate relationship, and it will always be that. We’re talking about a woman who’s been a part of my life since I can remember. She was thirteen when I met her. I was fifteen. »
His most recent interview also shows a more matured Eminem, who takes his responsibilities as a family man very seriously. Be sure that many of the elements mentioned in his interviews will be reflected in his upcoming album Encore.