Eminem‘s younger brother has shared what it was like growing up with the rap sensation, describing him as “the best role model”.
Nathan ‘Nate’ Mathers, the brother of Marshall Mathers, opened up about his upbringing on the Just A Little Shady podcast, hosted by the latter’s daughter, Hailie Jade.
The brothers have the same mother but are 14 years apart, meaning Nate is closer in age to Jade, who was two when he was 12.
“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,” Jade said (via HotNewHipHop).
“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 realise how much older you are than me because I feel like you are like a brother.”
Nate explained that “going off the lyrics” of his brothers songs, he could understand why people speculated about their life.
“He was the best role model I could have had to help me be the dad that I am today,” he said.
He also recalled the earlier days of Eminem’s fame. “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,” he said.
“I am like, ‘Alright, well, this is real’… A few years later, when I was able to leave from being under my mum’s care, I moved in with you guys.”
Nate also said that seeing his brother’s success inspired him to start writing, too. “I had learned from your dad how to do music and how to write formulas, compound syllables and tested it out in the beginning,” he said.
“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.”
He acknowledged that this would make him vulnerable to comparisons, but said “it was never about that”, but rather doing something that people would enjoy.
In November last year, Eminem was inducted into the 2022 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and performed with Ed Sheeran and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler at the ceremony.
The rapper was inducted by long-term friend and mentor Dr Dre who said (via the LA Times) that “Eminem wasn’t just an underdog who broke through the glass ceiling of hip-hop – he shattered that shit”.