Eminem hates one of his own songs so much he no longer performs it and cringes when he hears it
Emily Brown
Featured Image Credit: Scott Legato/Getty Images
Eminem has admitted that he 'cringes' every time he hears one of his own songs now after releasing it earlier in his lengthy career.
Ever since the release of his debut album, Infinite, in 1996, Eminem has gone on to establish himself as one of the best-known rappers of all time. He's got a catalogue of more than 300 songs touching on a whole range of topics, so it's understandable that he'd come to have his favorites - as well as those he's less proud of.
While some fans might not particularly like the pacing or lyrics in certain Eminem songs, for the rapper, it's the emotional impact of one particular track that's left him regretting it.
The track features on his 2002 album Without Me, and features details about Em's fraught relationship with his mother, Debbie.
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Just three years prior to the song's release, Debbie had sued her son as she accused him of slander and defamation. She sought to get $10 million out of her famous son, but eventually settled for $25,000.
Eminem then dropped his track 'Cleanin' Out My Closet', in which he uses some choice language to describe the woman who brought him into the world.
In the track, he calls his mom a 'selfish b**ch' and says he hoped she would 'burn in Hell'.
The Slim Shady rapper also described her 'popping prescription pills' and vowed not to let her meet his daughter.
The song was apparently a reflection of how Eminem felt about his mom at the time, but as his feelings changed, so too did his thoughts about the track.
In 2013, Eminem followed-up with an apology track towards his mom in which he revealed how he had come to feel about 'Cleanin' Out My Closet'.
In his song 'Headlights', he said: “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.”
The heartfelt apology continues: “But I’m sorry mama for ‘Cleanin’ Out My Closet,’ at the time I was angry. Rightfully maybe so, never meant that far to take it though, ‘cause now I know it’s not your fault and I’m not making jokes. / That song I no longer pay at shows and I cringe every time it’s on the radio.”
Em goes on in the track to say he 'forgives' his mom, adding that she 'did [her] best' to raise him and his brother, Nathan.
Rounding off the heartfelt apology, he says: "But I love you Debbie Mathers, oh what a tangled web we have.
"And I’m mad I didn’t get the chance to thank you for being my mom and my dad."
Debbie died in December 2024 at the age of 69.