- 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 declared Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” to be the theme song of his life.
Rap legend Eminem wants Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to stop rapping to his music during the campaign trail.
Music licensing agency BMI has 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 Aug. 23, says BMI has “received communications from Marshall B. Mathers, III, professionally known as Eminem, objecting to the Vivek Ramaswamy campaign’s use of musical compositions by Eminem”.
Ramaswamy was seen rapping to Eminem’s hit song ‘Lose Yourself’ at the Iowa State Fair August 12. The track was a single Eminem released 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 performed under the stage name Da Vek – his rapping alter ego – at Harvard. He was a warm-up number for Busta Rhymes when the rapper performed at Harvard in 2004.
Tricia McLaughlin, spokeswoman for Ramaswamy’s campaign, told CNN she would comply with Eminem’s request to stop using his music.
“Vivek just got on stage and went wild. Much to the chagrin of the American people, we’ll have to leave the rapping to the real Slim Shady,” McLaughlin told CNN.
But it seems 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 joked in a post on Xformerly Twitter, Monday.
In February, Ramaswamy announced his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination. The biotech entrepreneur presented himself as a conservative firebrand and differentiated himself from a slew of candidates after his outstanding performance in the GOP debate last week.
Ramaswamy isn’t the only politician to get in trouble for using Eminem’s music.
In 2014, the New Zealand National Party used a version of “Lose Yourself” in a campaign advertisement. Eminem then filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the party and they were asked to pay over $400,000 to Eminem’s publisher.
Eminem, however, allowed Joe Biden to use “Lose Yourself” in a campaign ad for the 2020 presidential elections. Eminem did too promoted the ad in an article on X.
Representatives for Eminem, Ramaswamy and BMI did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment sent outside of normal business hours.
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