Eminem has urged GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to stop using his songs during campaign events.
Ramaswamy, who recently started incorporating rap into his campaign appearances, seems to be reconsidering his approach following a request from the Grammy-winning rapper.
“To the American people’s chagrin, we will have to leave the rapping to the real slim shady,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the campaign, said in a text message.
2024 GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy raps Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” at the Iowa State Fair. pic.twitter.com/xUxlxUf3TY
— The Recount (@therecount) August 12, 2023
On Wednesday, the performing rights organization BMI told Ramaswamy’s campaign that they had been contacted by Marshall B. Mathers III, who is professionally known as Eminem. In the cease-and-desist letter, Eminem expressed his objection to the use of his musical creations by Ramaswamy’s campaign.
A few days later, Ramaswamy responded to the letter on Twitter saying, “Will The REAL Slim Shady Please Stand Up? He didn’t just say what I think he did, did he?”
Will The REAL Slim Shady Please Stand Up? He didn’t just say what I think he did, did he? @Eminem 😅 https://t.co/iOOuG6SU2D
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) August 28, 2023
Ramaswamy made headlines by performing Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” live on stage at the Iowa State Fair. An older video dating back to Ramaswamy’s senior year at Harvard University in 2006, where he rapped the 2002 hit using his stage name “Da Vek,” also went viral.
Ramaswamy isn’t the first presidential candidate to face resistance from musicians regarding the use of their music. In 2015, Neil Young’s long-standing manager stated that Donald Trump lacked authorization to use “Rockin’ in the Free World” during his presidential candidacy announcement. Similarly, fifteen years earlier, George W. Bush was requested to stop playing Tom Petty’s 1989 hit “I Won’t Back Down.”
