Rapper Eminem has formally requested that the US Republican Presidential candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, stop using his music at rallies and other campaign events.
The cease and desist arrives after Ramaswamy rapped along to Eminem’s 2002 hit ‘Lose Yourself’ at the Iowa State Fair earlier this month. Since then, he’s been using the track that was made famous on the soundtrack for the movie 8 Mile as his walkout song.
The politician’s love of rap has been widely reported. The Guardian notes that when he was an undergraduate at Harvard, he rapped under the name ‘Da Vek’. He also revealed to the University’s campus newspaper, The Crimson, that ‘Lose Yourself’ is his personal theme song.
Now, in an exclusive letter obtained by The Daily Mail, the music licenser Broadcast Music Inc (BMI), has issued a letter to Ramaswamy about his use of Eminem’s music. Dated August 23rd, the BMI say they received an official request from Eminem demanding that the politician stop using his music on the campaign trail.
It states that they “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.”
“BMI will consider any performance of the Eminem Works by the Vivek 2024 campaign from this date forward to be a material breach of the Agreement for which BMI reserves all rights and remedies with respect thereto,” the letter also reads.
In response to the cease and desist, a Ramaswamy spokesperson told the publication: “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”.