In 2002, established rapper Eminem discovered a mixtape called Guess Who’s Back by a then-unknown artist called 50 Cent.
50 Cent revealed that Eminem would turn down many big career opportunities to be with his child
Impressed by what he heard, Eminem signed 50 to his label, Shady Records, and became his mentor ahead of the release of his first hit single, “In Da Club,” which catapulted the rapper to fame when it was released in January 2003.
The song’s impact was arguably secured by the celebrity cameo’s in the music video, which included both Eminem and Dr. Dre, among other stars.
Eminem also featured on two of the songs on 50’s debut album, Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, which was released the following month
Ever since, the two rappers have enjoyed an incredibly close personal and professional relationship, and are now decadeslong friends as well as musical collaborators.
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In fact, the two are so close that 50 attended the wedding of Eminem’s daughter Hailie Jade in May of this year — and he has now revealed that the entire thing left him feeling pretty emotional.
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For context, Hailie Jade was just six years old when 50 first met Eminem all those years ago, and in a new interview, 50 recalled how Em would prioritize his family life amid his glittering music career.
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While 50 has two children of his own, 28-year-old Marquise and 12-year-old Sire, he did not relate to how being a father appeared to impact Eminem’s career choices — including when it came to things like going on tour.
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“That was the difference between my experience and Em’s,” he told Haute Living in a recent interview. “I could always go out on the road, but with Hailie, it was different.”
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“Like, if she’s looking at you and she doesn’t want you to leave and you go: ‘No, I’ve got to work.’ [And she says] ‘But really, do you have to go?’ ‘OK, maybe I don’t have to go.’ If that was the case, things might have changed for me,” he added.
Revealing that he wanted to go on a joint tour with Eminem but Em declined, 50 explained: “Em was saying that he didn’t want to go everywhere in the world where I went.”
“I would say to him that people would pay a gazillion dollars to see us on tour together — all kinds of money to see him perform — and he still did not care about that, because the most expensive thing that we have is time, and he was conscious of being there for Hailie growing up,” 50 said.
And with the knowledge of just how seriously Eminem takes fatherhood, 50 found himself overcome with emotion when he watched Hailie tie the knot.
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“It was unbelievable,” he said of her big day. “The wildest thing to me, period. I was like: ‘Yo, bro, this is crazy. We’re getting old. Your baby is grown. What the fuck is going on?’”
“I was having a moment myself over there,” 50 continued. “I told Em: ‘You said it was OK to cry? Because I’m crying!’ I couldn’t believe it went that fast.”
Eminem has always been incredibly open about how seriously he takes parenting, with the star also the adoptive father of Hailie Jade’s half-sibling and their cousin.
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The star shares Hailie with his ex-wife, Kim Scott, and he took in Kim’s twin sister Dawn’s daughter, Alaina, when Dawn was struggling with drug addiction.
He confirmed that he had “full custody” of Alaina in 2004, and Dawn sadly died in 2016.
Then, in 2005, Eminem legally adopted Kim’s child Stevie, who she shares with Eric Hartter. Stevie was three years old at the time of the adoption.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Eminem also opened up about caring for his younger brother Nate, who was taken into foster care when he was eight years old and Eminem was 23.
“When he was taken away, I always said if I ever get in a position to take him, I would take him,” he said. “I tried to apply for full custody when I was 20, but I didn’t have the means. I couldn’t support him. I watched him when he was in the foster home. He was so confused. I mean, I cried just goin’ to see him at the foster home.”
Em was true to his word, and once he found success as a rapper, he became Nate’s guardian. The star has been open about the struggles he endured throughout his own childhood, and explained that he was determined to give the children in his life a better upbringing.
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“I just want [Hailie] and my immediate family — my daughter, my niece, and my little brother — to have things I didn’t have: love and material things. But I can’t just buy them things. I have to be there,” he said in the 2004 interview.
And speaking on Mike Tyson’s Hotboxin’ podcast in 2019, Eminem said that his children are his proudest achievement, sharing: “When I think about my accomplishments, that’s probably the thing I’m the most proud of is that – being able to raise kids.”
