Eminem has once again rose to national prominence with the release of his newest album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2 and the album’s hit song, “Rap God.” While many are praising the song for its lyrical mastery, one of Eminem’s most personal and insightful songs is being overlooked. When Eminem released The Eminem Show in 2002, it flew off the shelves and went on to become the best selling album of 2002. The hit song on this particular album was “Cleanin’ Out My Closet,” a song in which Eminem lambasted his mother’s parenting and lifestyle choices: “But how dare you try to take what you didn’t help me to get / You selfish b*tch; I hope you f*cking burn in hell for this sh*t.” However, in a new song entitled “Headlights,” Eminem shows signs of forgiveness and reconciliation with his mother, stating “In what verse, my Mom probably got it the worst, the brunt of it / But as stubborn as we are, did I take it too far, Cleaning Out My Closet / And all them other songs, but regardless I don’t hate you / Cause Ma, you’re still beautiful to me, cause you’re my Mom.”
Perhaps that is why so many people were eager to believe the latest news from the pop-culture world that Marshall and Kim Mathers were seeing each other once again. The couple, who have been dating since they were teenagers, were rumored to once again be infatuated with one another by Kim’s mother, Kathy Sluck: “They get along better than ever… She has been clean all these years, she just takes care of her family. She’s doing very well… I think they might [get back together], they get on better than ever.”
Adding fire to the rumor was Marie Hartter, the grandmother of Eminem’s adopted daughter Whitney (the child of Kim and another man): “They will probably grow old together one way or another, as much as he says he hates her in his music, he loves her that much too, I feel. I think it’s kind of like throwing gas on the fire. I’ve always felt that that was each of their one true love. I think they met very young, they were together a lot of years, I don’t think she’s ever been with anyone for as long as she’s been with him, whether it’s off and on.”
However, Hartter would also go on to state that “As far as I know they’re not together..”, a sentiment that was later echoed by a spokesman for Shady Records: “Marshall and Kim continue to maintain a great friendship and share in the parenting of their family.”
The tumultuous nature of this online rumor parallels the tumultuous nature of Eminem and Kim’s relationship over the years. The couple first decided to give marriage a try in 1999, 4 years after the birth of their first daughter, Hailie. However, that relationship would only last for around 1 year. The couple then decided to give marriage another go in 2006; Marshall and Kim got married in January but finalized their divorce in December.
The rocky nature of their relationship has also been no secret. In his 2000 album The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem released a song entitled “Kim”, in which he fantasized about killing his former wife due to her drug abuse and infidelity. The song was so explicit that it had to be left off of the clean version of the album entirely. Despite his vicious call for her death, Eminem also expresses his love for Kim throughout his musical career as well. In his 2005 album Curtain Call: The Hits, Eminem fantasizes about a quaint, idyllic life with Kim and his daughers: “That’s when I wake up, alarm clock’s ringin’, there’s birds singin’ / It’s Spring and Hailie’s outside swinging, I walk up to Kim and kiss her / Tell her I miss her, Hailie just smiles and winks at her little sister”. And on his 2010 album Recovery, Eminem professes his commitment to Kim despite their differences: “Hailie this one is for you, Whitney and Alaina too, / I still love your mother, that’ll never change, / Think about her every day, we just could never get it together. / Hey, wish there was a better way, for me to say it, / But I swear on everything, I’d do anything for her on any day.”
So while Kim’s mother may not be lying and sees her daughter with Eminem with some frequency, it is most likely as platonic as it seems. Eminem may be considered one of the more visceral and offensive mainstream rappers, but one cannot overlook his self-aware lyrics and ever-increasing maturity that has been expressed throughout the years. If Eminem says that he and Kim “could never get it together,” odds are they never will.
In the end, stop making something out of nothing, world. Kim and Eminem are not getting together, and for rap-lovers, perhaps that is for the better; Eminem has always spit his best game when he is p*ssed off at something.
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