UNITED STATES (AP) – Debbie Nelson, the single mother of rapper Eminem, with whom he had a fraught relationship, has died at 69 after previously battling lung cancer.

Eminem’s representative Dennis Dennehy, confirmed the death in an email Tuesday, but did not provide a cause of death.

Nelson’s rocky relationship with her superstar son, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, has been the subject of international scrutiny, fuelled by lyrics in his songs and further by her own book.
Eminem disparaged Nelson in songs such as the 2002 single “Cleaning Out My Closet.” Eminem sings: “Witnessin’ your mama poppin’ prescription pills in the kitchen. … My whole life I was made to believe I was sick when I wasn’t.”

In lyrics from his Oscar-winning hit “Lose Yourself” from the movie “8 Mile,” his feelings seem to have simmered, referencing his “mom’s spaghetti.”

The song went on to win best rap song at the 2004 Grammy Awards.

Nelson brought and settled a pair of defamation lawsuits over her son’s statements about her in magazines and on radio talk shows. In her 2008 book, “My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem,” she attempted to set the record straight by providing readers details about the rapper’s early life.

“Marshall and I were so close that friends and relatives commented that it was as if the umbilical cord had never been cut,” she wrote.

Eminem announced in October that he was going to be a grandfather, saying his daughter Hailie Jade is pregnant by way of a music video that is a tribute to their relationship.