As a card-carrying millennial, I grew up in the midst of Eminem’s cultural takeover. I distinctly remember moving across the country and coping by listening to The Eminem Show on repeat and memorizing every word. 8 Mile had come out in 2002, and most millennials I know can still recite every word to “Lose Yourself.” And while it’s been 21 years since the song came out, Eminem remains calm and ready to drop cease and desist orders on Republicans using his music to promote themselves.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who thinks we should raise the voting age to 25 (so in touch with the youth he wants to silence them!), decided it was his time to make headlines. I mean, after all, he is competing with indictment magnet Donald Trump and Florida Man/Robot Ron DeSantis. He’s got to find some way to stand out.
So Ramaswamy appeared at the Iowa State Fair to court voters, where he decided it was a great time to rap “Lose Yourself” in front of an audience in a desperate bid for relatability. In response, Eminem’s team instantly sent the Ramaswamy campaign a cease and desist letter. According to CNN, the performing rights organization known as BMI informed Ramaswamy’s campaign at Eminem’s request that his music is not to be licensed to the campaign. The letter stated that they “received a communication from Marshall B. Mathers, III, professionally known as Eminem, objecting to the Vivek Ramaswamy campaign’s use of Eminem’s musical compositions.”
Ramaswamy sucks so badly that Eminem went through the legal trouble of forcibly stopping him from using his music. Besides, we all know that Marshall Mathers is ridin’ with Biden.
Maybe don’t be a Republican
Instead of letting his weird karaoke performance go away in silence, Ramaswamy has gone on social media to complain about how he can’t sing Eminem songs on the campaign trail. My guy, if you want to live your rap star dreams that badly, just go to a karaoke bar like the rest of us. He posted on X, “Will The REAL Slim Shady Please Stand Up? He didn’t just say what I think he did, did he?” in response to a previous post.
I don’t think that Eminem blocking Ramaswamy from using his music is dorky, but I guess when you support MAGA nonsense, the dork is calling from inside the house. Eminem telling Ramaswamy’s campaign to not use his music is exactly what I want all of these artists to do. Like most Republicans, Ramaswamy just wants to be cool, but luckily all of Hollywood and the music industry are here to remind him that he is decidedly not.
(featured image: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
