Eminem Warns Republican Presidential Candidate About Using His Song

There is only one Slim Shady, and Eminem wants to keep it that way!

Marshall Mathers, best known by his stage name, is one of the greatest entertainers in the music industry. The lyrical genius took rapping to new heights with his unique rhyming abilities and impressive speed.

To date, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honoree remains an undisputed G.O.A.T in the Hip-hop scene, inspiring others to pursue similar dreams. However, the Missouri native does not appreciate politicians who use his songs to promote their agendas.

The 50-year-old entertainer recently clashed with the Republican Vivek Ramaswamy after the 2024 presidential candidate showed off his rapping skills using Eminem's song. The Hip-hop superstar called out the aspiring lawmaker following his performance at the Iowa State Fair.

As reported by DailyMail, the Roivant Sciences founder attended the early morning gathering to speak alongside Iowa's Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. When the Cincinnati native was asked for his favorite walkout song, the 38-year-old cited Eminem's "Lose Yourself."

On cue, the 2002 track started blasting from the speakers, and Ramaswamy entertained the crowd with an impressive performance. The viral campaign trail moment caught Eminem's attention, and he swiftly addressed the situation through his legal team

Eleven days after the Republican's Iowa State Fair performance, a cease and desist letter was sent to the entrepreneur's campaign lawyer. The written communication dated August 23 was penned by a correspondent for the music licenser, BMI.

Part of the statement read: "BMI has 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 representative noted the letter served as a notice of the immediate exclusion of the "Mockingbird" hitmaker music from Ramaswamy's presidential campaign and warned the politician's legal team to adhere to their instructions.

"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 message concluded.

Responding to the cease and desist letter, a spokesperson for the Campus Venture Network co-founder's campaign hinted that the Republican was not offended. "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," the individual quipped.

As for Ramaswamy, the 38-year-old has been a longtime Eminem fan and used to perform libertarian-themed raps during his time at Harvard University. The Cincinnati native did so under the stage name "Da Vek."

Earlier this month, the father of two raved about his admiration for the "Angry Blonde" author and how he felt connected to the entertainer's grass-to-grace story. "I did not grow up in the circumstances he did. But the idea of being an underdog, people having low expectations of you, that part speaks to me," the aspiring president confessed.

Before getting slapped with a cease and desist letter from Eminem, the multimillionaire had gained attention for sharing unpopular opinions about specific subjects. Per BBC News, the Republican saw himself as an "outsider willing to develop former President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda with his own personal spin."

To achieve this goal, Ramaswamy had some unique proposals he believed must be adopted. Some of the media personality's beliefs included the voting age, which the 38-year-old stated should be 25.

Under the entrepreneur's agenda, those above 18 would be allowed to vote if they met a "national service requirement." This meant they must either be an emergency first responder or have at least six months of military service.

Those who fell outside these categories but were above 18 could also vote if they passed the same test given to those seeking US citizenship. Another of Ramaswamy's unpopular opinions involved the Ukraine war.

The Strive Asset Management co-founder was against aiding the embattled country. "I think that by fighting further in Russia, by further arming Ukraine, we are driving Russia into China's hands," the businessman explained.

Regarding the best way to end the conflict, the father of two believed Ukraine must make "some major concessions to Russia." This included "freezing those current lines of control in a Korean-war style armistice agreement."