How Eminem Inspired His Younger Brother to Get Into Music
Eminem’s family life prior to his fame was anything but stable. The rapper‘s mother battled addiction — a battle Eminem would later take on himself — and he had to live with other family members at times, all while welcoming his girlfriend Kim Scott into his home. Eminem’s younger brother Nate got a front-row seat to his brother’s rise from underground clubs in Detroit to the Super Bowl halftime show stage.
Eminem’s younger brother Nathan grew up with Em’s daughter Hailie
Eminem’s brother Nate Mathers is 14 years younger than his Grammy-winning sibling. As a result, he’s closer in age to Eminem’s daughter Hailie Jade Mathers than he is to his brother.
Nate joined his niece on an episode of her podcast Just a Little Shady in February 2023, and the two spoke about their individual relationships with Eminem and how growing up in the proximity of a music star was for them. Hailie lovingly refers to Nate as her “bruncle.”
“Nate is my uncle — my dad’s younger brother — but also we kind of grew up together because Nate lived with us for a while when I was young,” Hailie said on the podcast. “I would say brother-uncle, you definitely act younger than your age. We are closer in age than you are to [my] dad, but still, I never realize how much older you are than me because I feel like you are like a brother.”
When discussing Eminem’s lyrics and speculation about what home life with Eminem was like, Nate acknowledged that some people might have had a negative perception of the “Stan” rapper. But for him, Eminem has only inspired him to be better. “Going off the lyrics and everything, I could see that,” Nate said. “He was the best role model I could have had to help me be the dad that I am today.”
Although Nate was a child when Eminem’s fame began to take off, he understood what was happening around him. “Yes, I started understanding a little more when reality would hit when I would start seeing [Eminem] on TV and going to shows and all the signatures and crazy people,” Nate said. “I am like, ‘Alright, well, this is real.'”
Eminem inspired his younger brother to rap
Nate looked up to his older brother, and even began copying his style. “[Eminem] would get so many free clothes, and would buy clothes — I would just take them,” Nate recalled. “I would take his hand-me-downs… When I was 12 and went to [his] first show, my cousin, John, convinced me that not only should I dye my hair, but that my brother dyes his eyebrows. Being young, I am like, ‘Oh, really? I want to dye my eyebrows too. Sounds like the perfect idea — I want to look like twins.’ Not the case.”
He went on to describe how Eminem’s career inspired Nate to make music of his own. He began writing music at a young age, and when he was older, began learning from Eminem himself.
“I had learned from your dad how to do music and how to write formulas, compound syllables and tested it out in the beginning,” Nate told Hailie. “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 how I would deliver songs and how that would formulate to where people would enjoy it.”
Despite his relation to a music superstar, Nate had no desire to compete with or be compared to his brother. “It was never about that,” he said, adding that he wanted to “do something that other people would enjoy.”
Eminem’s career 2 decades later
Eminem’s success has continued to last over two decades since his breakout with albums including The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show. In 2022, the rapper joined Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar for the Super Bowl LVI halftime show, which paid homage to hip-hop in advance of its 50th birthday in 2023. He even personally got 50 Cent to be a part of the show.
For his work in the Super Bowl halftime show, Eminem and the other performers secured the first-ever Outstanding Variety Special award at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards for the Super Bowl halftime show. With this win, Eminem inched closer to EGOT status, with only a Tony Award left for the 8 Mile star to add to his collection.
