How Did Eminem’s Half-Brother Nate React To Their Mom Debbie Nelson’s Passing? (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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Eminem’s half-brother, Nathan “Nate” Kane Mathers, has reacted to their mother, Debbie Nelson’s death. The reaction came just a day after she died of advanced lung cancer at the age of 69. “Hatred and mixed emotions today,” the 38-year-old penned in an Instagram story on Tuesday. Nate’s post comes after years of estrangement from Nelson, who had children with two different men.
Eminem Has Been A Father Figure In Nathan “Nate” Kane Mathers’ Life
Although Eminem and Nathan had a strained relationship with their mother, the rapper’s half-brother has always credited him with being a father-like figure. Nelson welcomed Nate with her then-boyfriend Fred Samra when the Mockingbird singer was only 13 years old. Eminem’s biological father, Marshall Mathers Jr., abandoned him and Debbie when he was an infant.
Nathan “Nate” Kane Mathers Was Placed In Foster Care When He Was Only 8
At the age of 8, Nathan was placed in foster care, a traumatic experience that Eminem later referenced in his 2014 song Headlights. “When he was taken away I always said if I ever get in a position to take him, I would take him,” Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, told Rolling Stone in 2004. “I tried to apply for full custody when I was 20, but I didn’t have the means.”
Nearly a decade later, the rapper secured custody of his half-brother, who was 16 at the time. Today, Nathan acknowledges Eminem as a significant, positive influence in his life. “He was the best role model I could have had to help me be the dad that I am today,” he said in a February 2023 appearance on Just a Little Shady, a podcast hosted by Eminem’s daughter, Hailie Jade Scott.
Nathan “Nate” Kane Mathers Learned Music From Eminem
During a recent appearance on Hailie’s podcast Just a Little Shady, Nathan shared that Eminem inspired him to pursue music from a young age. “I had learned from your dad, my brother, how to do music and how to write formulas, compound syllables, whatnot, and tested it out in the beginning,” he said.
The father-of-three added, “From there, I started looking around for beats and whatnot and got comfortable enough with my voice and writing skills that I started recording and getting a feel for songs, how I would deliver them and how that would formulate to where people would enjoy it.”
Nathan released the song Slide on Over in 2009. According to People Magazine, he later performed at the wedding reception of his niece Alaina Scott, Eminem’s eldest child.
