Los Angeles: Rap god Eminem's estranged father, Marshall Bruce Mathers, has died. He was 67. Mathers, who went by the name Bruce, reportedly died near Fort Wayne, Indiana after a heart attack at his home, reported TMZ. The exact cause of death remains unclear. Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, had a well-documented, troubled history with his father, whom the rapper has said he never met.

The Grammy-winning artiste's hit tracks "My Name Is" and "Cleanin' Out My Closet" were inspired from their estranged relationship.




According to Debbie Nelson, Eminem's mother, she and Bruce separated shortly after the singer's birth in 1972. The mother-son duo settled in Detroit with her family while Bruce moved to California where he had two other kids.

Eminem has said in interviews, as a child, he wrote letters to his father but they always came back "return to sender".

In 2001, Bruce published a letter addressed to Eminem in a newspaper explaining his side of the story, that Debbie didn't let the father-son reconnect. PTI