Chainsaw-wielding U.S. rapper Eminem says he is doing it all for his 5-year-old daughter.
He may sing about “murdering my baby’s mother” but he doesn’t really mean it – and he is busy saving money so daughter Hailie can go to college one day.
The Grammy Award-winning rapper, whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, has stirred controversy worldwide.
While critics say his lyrics are violent, homophobic and misogynistic, his fans say they are witty and poignant.
“Everything that I am doing right now is for Hailie. The money. The money – it’s for her college,” the rapper told Q magazine on the eve of his latest trip to Britain.
Eminem, who has been in divorce proceedings with his wife Kim, told Q that his daughter “knows at the end of the day Daddy is not what he says in his songs.”
“When I say I’ll murder my baby’s mother, maybe I wanted to do it but I didn’t do it. Anybody who takes it literally is a bigger idiot and 10 times sicker than I am.”
Eminem has already performed a sell-out tour of Britain in February despite angry protests from gay rights activists.
The rapper was warned by London authorities that his chainsaw-wielding act on August 23 in the British capital must meet safety regulations or risk being halted mid-concert.
And Eminem kept making it clear in the Q interview that his daughter was his big motivation.
“You know I think my little girl was the real wake-up call for me. She made me get my ass in gear – to make something of my life and try 10 quadrillion times harder than I had before.”