The relatively unknown family member who showed Eminem the most love
Eminem has family issues, and that won’t come as a surprise to those who have followed him throughout his career. Whether it’s with his mum or his ex-wife, Kim Scott, there has been a lot of upheaval and stress. However, he did have positive influences in his life.
The ‘Stan’ emcee has previously spoken about his uncle Ronnie who introduced him to hip-hop, and Ronnie is mentioned in most of the documentaries about his childhood. Em and his uncle reportedly recorded tapes together, and he was a mentor of sorts for a young Eminem.
Ronnie Polkingharn was a massive part of Eminem’s life as a youngster. However, one of the tragic stories of Em’s upbringing is that he committed suicide on December 13th, 1991, by shooting himself, and Em lost one of his closest family members and his best friend.
Despite being his uncle, Eminem and Ronnie were the same age, so he also lost a best friend. His family members have recalled that Eminem stopped talking to people after his death and was so traumatised and hurt that he didn’t attend the open-casket funeral.
Many know about Ronnie Polkinghorn, as he has been mentioned in numerous documentaries. However, in 2004, Eminem shared details of another family member he looked up to and claimed she was the only one in the family who truly loved him.
In 2004, when asked by a journalist who made him feel special and loved, Em unveiled his Great-Aunt and Great-Uncle in Missouri, gave him a lot of time, stating, “My Aunt Edna, which would be my great-aunt Edna, and my Uncle Charles, my great-uncle Charles. This was in Missouri. They’re from my dad’s side. They took care of me a lot.” He added, “They were older, but they did things with me; they let me stay the weekends there, took me to school, bought me things, let me stay and watch TV, let me cut the grass to get five dollars, took me to the mall. Between them and my Uncle Ronnie, they were my solidity.”
One of the many childhood problems fans were made aware of during Eminem’s heyday is that the ‘My Name Is’ star never stayed in one place for an extended period and flip-flopped between Detroit, Michigan and St Joseph, Missouri. Moreover, he spent more time in the former.
The rapper’s grandmother, Betty Kresin, once gave an interview explaining how important Edna was to him, revealing, “He came to see her as being like his real mother. He was totally devastated when Edna died.
She continued, “Marshall was always sneaking into St Joseph to visit Edna at her house on South 12th Street without telling anyone. And when she got older he paid for her to have care from a whole bunch of experts. He even wrote a song a few years ago about how Edna and her husband Charles were the ones that raised him. His real mother, Debbie, was upset when she heard that.”