Eminem, ex-wife, get permit to re-marry in Detroit

DETROIT - Rapper Eminem and his ex-wife, are expected to pick up a marriage licence as soon as today in the Detroit area, ahead of a second wedding that would be the latest twist in their turbulent relationship.

Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, and Kimberly Mathers applied for a marriage licence in Macomb County, just north of Detroit on Monday, an official in the clerk's office said today.

The marriage license, which cost US$20, ($28.87) is valid after a three-day waiting period for 30 days. The couple had not turned up as this morning to claim the licence, the official at the clerk's office said.

Eminem, 33, who famously rapped about a fantasy of killing his ex-wife in the hit song "Kim," told a Detroit radio station last month that the couple had reconciled and would probably re-marry.

Published reports have said the two plan to marry on Sunday in the gritty Detroit suburb of Warren where they both once lived, just beyond the border of Detroit, 8 Mile Road, made famous as the title for Eminem's semi-autobiographical 2002 movie.

The Mathers married in 1999 and their divorce, which prompted a bitter custody battle over their young daughter, was finalized in 2001.

Last year, the hip-hop superstar was treated for addiction to a sleep medication and had to cancel his European tour. His greatest hits collection "Curtain Call" was released in December.

Eminem has denied he plans to retire but suggested he could take a break from recording and performing.

"I'm at a point in my life right now where I feel like I don't know where my career is going right now," he told Detroit radio station WKQI-FM last month in the only interview he granted to promote the album.

- REUTERS