Remember Eminem? If you are at least in your mid-30s, you probably do. In a move that would be called cultural appropriation in today's political climate, the white-boy rapper rose to the top of the game in the early 2000s with his hit Lose Yourself.
Times change, though, and instead of garnering international attention, Eminem is now sending cease and desist letters to people who rap his songs in public. From the real Slim Shady to a complete dork in just a few short decades.
The real Slim Shady has stood up - and has told 2024 Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy to stand down, and stop rapping to his tunes on the campaign trail.
The rapper Eminem reached out to the music licenser BMI and asked that the Ramaswamy campaign's license to use his music be revoked, according to a letter obtained by DailyMail.com.
In a letter dated August 23, a representative for BMI informed the campaign's lawyer that the label had 'received communications from Marshall B. Mathers, III, professionally known as Eminem, objecting to the Vivek Ramaswamy campaign's use of Eminem's musical compositions (the "Eminem Works") and requesting that BMI remove all Eminem Works from the Agreement.'
The background here is that 2024 GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy decided to rap Lose Yourself while at the Iowa State Fair in early August. Was it hilariously cringe and ill-advised? Sure. But it was a harmless showing from a candidate who was trying to garner attention. Eminem getting chapped over it is worse than saying nothing, and it's also hilarious.
Of course, we know why he sent the letter. Eminem is a big fan of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. In 2020, he dropped this supposedly free-style video trashing Donald Trump.
Ironically, Ramamswamy's anti-war platform matches Eminem's past proclamations about government policy much better than anything the Biden administration is currently putting out. Partisanship is a heck of a drug, though, and Mr. Mathers appears to be a total sell-out.
Regardless, this is just something Republicans have to live with. Celebrities are overwhelming left-wing and they are overwhelmingly petty as well. Every cycle, there's some cry session over a GOP candidate for some office playing a song at a rally or something. To try to stop someone from doing what amounts to karaoke, though? That seems like a bit much and completely unenforceable. Against my ears' better judgment, I'm encouraging Ramaswamy to organize an encore performance.