With eleven Grammy awards, Eminem is the biggest-selling rapper of the last decade. So it is clear the message in his style of music is resonating and connecting with a very diverse audience, especially young men. In this autobiographical song, "Cleaning Out My Closet," his rage is palpable when he speaks about his father, who abandoned him when he was just a few months old. He says, "I wonder if he even kissed me goodbye. No, on second thought, I just wish he would … die."
Not surprisingly, Eminem, who is (or was for many years) an unmarried father, has had a tumultuous life, which has included a recent battle with drug addiction. Despite his attempts, I don't believe that he has truly been able to "clean his closet" of the damage that his father's absence left behind. His father left him when he was six months old, and Eminem never knew him. There is still pain there. When a reporter asked if he'd like to meet his father he said: "I don't know. I don't know. Some people ask me that. I don't think I do … if my kids were moved to the edge of the Earth, I'd find them. No doubt in my mind. No money, no nothin', if I had nothing, I'd find my kids. So, there's no excuse. There's no excuse."
