Eminem Was ‘Never Comfortable in the Spotlight.’ Inside His Private World as He Prepares to Be a Grandpa

“He’s excited about becoming a grandpa,” a source tells PEOPLE of Eminem, whose daughter Hailie Jade Scott is expecting her first child

Eminem is looking forward to life as a grandfather!

The Grammy winner, 51, is “excited” about the next steps for his family and is “very protective” of his daughter Hailie Jade Scott, a source tells PEOPLE.

The insight into the rapper’s personal life comes following the Friday, Oct. 4 release of his latest music video for song “Temporary,” in which his 28-year-old daughter revealed that she’s expecting her first baby with her husband, Evan McClintock.

“He’s always enjoyed privacy,” the source says of the musician, adding that Eminem’s “huge” property outside of Detroit — where he recorded some of his most recent LP, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) — “keeps him out of the public eye.”

“In Michigan, he can live exactly how he wants,” the source adds of Eminem, who welcomed his only child with ex Kim Scott at age 23 in 1995. “He was never comfortable in the spotlight.”

Eminem holds up his daughter Hailie Jade’s sonogram in his music video for “Temporary”.EminemMusic/Youtube

Another insider says that the rap icon is “super low-key,” adding: “He doesn’t travel with an entourage. He’s still an incredibly cool guy but also very ‘normal.’ … He keeps to himself these days and is definitely an artist but not a diva.”

And his devotion to his hometown — where he performed in June as part of the Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central event — runs deep.

“He’s a big Lions fan and truly loves Detroit,” the insider says. “He’s really loyal to that.”

The first source adds that, for Eminem, “a big focus” in life is his daughter, who got engaged to her longtime boyfriend McClintock in February 2023, after meeting at Michigan State University in 2016. Hailie Jade announced that they got married in a post on Instagram more than a year after the engagement.

“She lives near him,” the source says of Eminem and Hailie. “They’re very close. He’s excited about becoming a grandpa and supporting her. He’s always been very protective of her.”

The music video for “Temporary” — which features Eminem’s longtime collaborator Skylar Grey — includes behind-the-scenes moments from Hailie Jade’s wedding day, as well as shows Eminem holding a sonogram image of his future grandchild and other throwback snaps of him with his daughter.

Eminem performing in Detroit in June 2024.Aaron J. Thornton/Getty

In an episode of her Just a Little Shady podcast on Oct. 4, Hailie Jade opened up to friend Brittany Ednie about it being “such a relief to finally say” that she’s expecting a child. The pair also detailed how Hailie Jade hid the pregnancy from those at her wedding.

“So she was, you know, grabbing a drink, not consuming the drink as a responsible parent does,” Ednie said. “Whenever people were turned around, she would hand me her drink, and I would chug so it looked as if she was continuously drinking throughout that night.”

“Brittany was taking one for the team,” Hailie Jade added. “Well, then I’ll defend myself, though, because I never really asked you to do it. It was like an unspoken thing with our eyes.”

Soon after the release of Eminem’s latest video, Hailie Jade shared a few photos on her Instagram to confirm she’s expecting her baby next year. “Mom & dad est. 2025 🤍,” she captioned the post.