Is Ryan Oakes related to Eminem? All about the rising rapper as viral claim circulates online

Up-and-coming rapper Ryan Oakes dropped his latest single via his official Instagram account @ryanoakesmusic on June 11, 2025. While the title of the song remains undisclosed, Oakes captioned his post:

“Why does Eminem’s nephew have bars?”

It was accompanied by the music video of his recent rap number with the hashtags # Eminem, # HollywoodUndead, and #reels.

In the wake of Ryan Oakes's rap drop and caption mentioning Eminem, fans online began speculating about a possible connection between the two. However, Oakes is not part of Slim Shady's family. Instead, Ryan grew up considering Eminem his hip-hop idol and inspiration, according to famousbirthdays.com.

“Ever since I was young eating playdoh/ Everyone tried to make me a scapegoat/ Might as well turn me into a Jane Doe/ Almost sent to an earlier gravestone/ But I had more sh*t to do…” the lyrics of Ryan’s brand-new song read.

It continued:

“I felt the walls close in and had to make some moves/ I never lost my drive, had it 10 to 2 and went from a 2 to 10/ With everything to prove 'cause/ Even my birthdays a mistake yo/ My relationships in the same boat.”

---

Everything you need to know about Ryan Oakes

According to his official website, Ryan Oakes is a rapper, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and musical artist from Ashburn, Virginia, now based in Los Angeles, California. He practices old-school hip-hop, incorporating personal lyrical themes with an unusual modern flair.

The 30-year-old has been creating music for over two decades and has garnered over 500 million streams across platforms such as Spotify, SoundCloud, and YouTube. In 2016, he earned an overall 15-year stream time on Spotify.

Some of his popular tracks include Drinking About You, Glow'd Up, Anxiety, Eyelids, and I Wish, among others. Ryan Oakes has collaborated with Kevin Flum for the song On God, and his track SUICIDAL THOUGHTS (NO ONE'S HOME) features Against The Current's Chrissy Costanza.

“I put my own personality into the music as much as I can. There are some witty lines and a lot of personal truths. We’re trying to blend the genres so well to a point where you can’t label what we’re doing. It’s super detailed down to the smallest piece. That’s the Ryan Oakes' secret sauce. It’s something no one else can replicate,” his bio states.

He has over 182K followers on Instagram and 78.6K subscribers on YouTube. Besides hip-hop, Oakes has also tried out alternative rap and indie genres. He is signed to SLUMBERLAND record label as well as Position Music.

---

Briefly looking at Eminem’s family tree

Eminem was born Marshall Bruce Mathers III to his father, Marshal Bruce Mathers Jr., and mother, Deborah "Debbie" Nelson. M&M has two younger half-brothers from his mother's side, including Michael Mathers and Nathan Kane Samara-Mathers. His younger half-sister from his father's side is Sarah Mathers.

While Michael has lived away from the limelight, Nathan has followed in Eminem's footsteps, pursuing music, record production, deejaying, and acting. He has appeared in Slim Shady's music videos such as The Way I Am (2000), Without Me (2002), and Sing for the Moment (2003).

Sarah, too, has maintained a private life, and not much is known about her. Contrary to fan theories, Eminem does not have a sister named Lily. Instead, Lily refers to a fictional sibling who appeared in his semi-autobiographical movie, 8 Mile. The role was played by Chloe Greenfield.

Eminem's only biological child is his daughter, Hailie Jade Scott Mathers, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Kimberly Anne Scott. The rapper is also an adoptive parent of his niece, Alaina Marie Scott, and step-kid Stevie Laine Scott.

---

Eminem has not commented on Ryan Oakes’ drop as of the time of writing.