Eminem's Estranged Father Dead At 67

Eminem's estranged father, Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr., has died at the age of 67.

According to TMZ, the "Venom" rapper's father, who went by Bruce, died earlier this week near Fort Wayne Indiana. A family source told the entertainment news site, Bruce suffered a heart attack while at home.

As fans know, Eminem, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, and his dad had a strained relationship, which the 46-year-old rapper never shied away from discussing in his music. In Eminem's infamous hit song "Cleanin' Out My Closet" Eminem rapped about never meeting his father in person, and holding his dad's abandonment against him. "My fa***t father must've had his panties up in a bunch 'Cause he split, I wonder if he even kissed me goodbye," he rapped on the track. "No, I don't, on second thought, I just f**kin' wished he would die. I look at Hailie, and I couldn't picture leavin' her side."

Eminem's mother, Debbie, who the rapper also blasted in his music, married Bruce when she was 15 and he was 22, TMZ reports. The two then welcomed their first child, Eminem, two years later. Shortly after, however, Debbie and Bruce split — she settled in Detroit and he moved to California where he had two more kids, according to TMZ.

Eminem has previously discussed writing letters to his dad as a child, but he said they always came back "return to sender." Despite their years of estrangement, Bruce, wrote an open letter addressed to Eminem in 2001, claiming that it was Eminem's mother who kept him away. The sentiment though seemed to have no positive effect on the father and son's relationship as "Eminem apparently never got in contact with his father to reconcile."

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