- Vivek Ramaswamy’s days as a rapping presidential candidate may be over.
- Ramaswamy’s campaign received a request from rap star Eminem to stop using his music.
- Ramaswamy has previously said that Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” was his life’s theme song.
Rap legend Eminem wants the GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to stop rapping to his music on the campaign trail.
Music licencer BMI sent a cease-and-desist letter to Ramaswamy’s campaign, asking them to stop using the rapper’s songs, according to a copy obtained by the Daily Mail and CNN.
The letter, sent on August 23, said BMI has “received communications from Marshall B. Mathers, III, professionally known as Eminem, objecting to the Vivek Ramaswamy campaign’s use of Eminem’s musical compositions.”
Ramaswamy was seen rapping to Eminem’s hit song “Lose Yourself” at the Iowa State Fair on August 12. The track was a single Eminem dropped in 2002 for the movie “8 Mile.”
Ramaswamy told The Harvard Crimson in 2006 that “Lose Yourself” was the theme song of his life.
Ramaswamy used to perform under the stage name Da Vek — his rapper alter ego — while at Harvard. He was a warm-up act for Busta Rhymes when the rapper performed at Harvard in 2004.
Tricia McLaughlin, Ramaswamy’s campaign spokesperson, told CNN they will comply with Eminem’s request to stop using his music.
“Vivek just got on the stage and cut loose. To the American people’s chagrin, we will have to leave the rapping to the real Slim Shady,” McLaughlin told CNN.
But it looks like Ramaswamy himself isn’t particularly upset with Eminem’s request.
“Will The REAL Slim Shady Please Stand Up? He didn’t just say what I think he did, did he? @Eminem,” Ramaswamy quipped in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.
In February, Ramaswamy announced his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination. The biotech entrepreneur has styled himself as a conservative firebrand, and differentiated himself from a crowded field of candidates after his breakout performance at the GOP debate last week.
Ramaswamy is not the only politician who’s gotten into trouble for using Eminem’s music.
In 2014, the New Zealand National Party used a version of “Lose Yourself” in a campaign advertisement. Eminem later filed a copyright infringement suit against the party and they were asked to pay more than $400,000 to Eminem’s publisher.
Eminem, however, did allow Joe Biden to use “Lose Yourself” in a campaign advertisement for the 2020 presidential elections. Eminem also promoted the advertisement in a post on X.
Representatives for Eminem, Ramaswamy, and BMI did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.
