Why Eminem has asked Vivek Ramaswamy to stop using his music

Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy may be a fan of ‘Rap God’ Eminem, but it appears that the feeling is one-sided.

The famous Grammy-winning rapper Eminem, who is formally known as Marshall B Mathers III, has – as his lyrics go – snapped the desi candidate back to reality after the unauthorised use of his music. The artist has sent a cease and desist letter to the Republican hopeful, asking him to stop rapping to his tunes or using them on the 2024 presidential election campaign trail.

Interestingly, while candidates often get sent cease-and-desist letters all the time from artists who don’t want to be associated with them, usually it’s just for playing the songs at rallies — not for actually performing them.

Eminem’s action against Ramaswamy

Eminem through BMI, a performing rights organisation, has informed Ramaswamy’s campaign, has objected to the Republican’s use of his music and has even issued a cease and desist letter on the same.

In a letter dated 23 August, 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.”

“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 read.

The action comes after Ramaswamy performed Eminem’s Lose Yourself at the Iowa State Fair, entertaining an early morning crowd gathered to hear him speak alongside Iowa’s Republican Governor Kim Reynolds.

Reynolds had asked the 38-year-old entrepreneur to name his favourite walkout song to which Ramaswamy responded with Eminem’s famous song, Lose Yourself. The song was then blasted out, to which Ramaswamy grabbed the mic and created a viral campaign trail moment.

Rapping Republican: Vivek Ramaswamy’s Surprising Eminem Moment

Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential candidate and successful biotech entrepreneur, recently showcased a surprising side at the Iowa State Fair. Amidst his political pursuits, Ramaswamy took the stage to rap… pic.twitter.com/4tkvM0aMk5

— GOP News (@gopnews2024) August 19, 2023

“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,” a spokesperson for Ramaswamy’s campaign told DailyMail.com, reacting to the cease and desist letter.

Ramaswamy’s Eminem tryst

Notably, this isn’t Ramaswamy’s first brush with Eminem or rap music. The Republican hopeful has expressed his fondness for the rapper in the past and he also had a fledgling ‘rap career’ before he dreamt of the White House.

During his time as an undergrad at Harvard, Ramaswamy had a side-hustle as a libertarian-minded rap artist who went by the stage name “Da Vek.” In a Politico interview, he has spoken of how Eminem has served as an inspiration to him while growing up. He said in that interview that in Eminem, he found an insurgent-like figure, the kind of persona he aspired to and still seems to draw at least some inspiration from.

“He’s growing up in the trailers, with a single mom, and he wants to make it. He’s going to use the moment to do it. He feels like he’s going to use the moment to do it, he seizes it and then he makes it happen, and I thought it was a pretty cool story,” Ramaswamy told Politico. “I didn’t grow up in a trailer, but I also didn’t grow up in the same circumstances that most of my peers at Harvard did, either. I aspired to achieve what many of their parents did. It kind of spoke to me, I would say.”

However, Ramaswamy in recent times has changed his opinion on the rapper himself. He no longer sees Eminem as the underdog outsider he was drawn to as a college freshman. But says he still admires Eminem’s music.

The rise of Vivek Ramaswamy

Ramaswamy, the youngest candidate in the Republican presidential field, has been faring well on the campaign trail and has carved a name out for him. According to a Fox News poll, he has risen to the third place in the race behind former US president Donald Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

Considered an outsider to politics, Ramaswamy performed beyond expectations at last week’s Republican debate. He stole the show, throwing jibes at his fellow hopefuls, declaring at one point that, “I’m the only person on the stage who isn’t bought and paid for.”

Such was his performance that Trump, who chose to skip the first debate, crowned him the winner of the night.

Since announcing his candidacy for the 2024 US presidential elections, Ramaswamy has positioned himself as his party’s next Donald Trump, though younger and farther to the right. He’s also a defender of Trump, calling him “the best president of the 21st Century” and vowing that, as president, he would pardon him if he were convicted. He’s also called on other candidates to pledge the same.

Also read: How Vivek Ramaswamy is winning over Donald Trump supporters

Interestingly, his stance has made many political pundits believe that Ramaswamy is campaigning less for the presidency and more for a spot in a potential second Trump administration. But Ramaswamy has repeatedly said he’s not interested in the running mate role, telling NPR, “I’m not looking at this as building my own career.” And earlier this month, he told Fox News that he’s “not interested in a different position in the government.”

When musicians clash with candidates

Eminem’s action against Ramaswamy joins the long list of artists going up against candidates. Trump had received dozens of letters from record stars – including the Rolling Stones, Queen, Adele and Pharrell Williams – informing him he lacked permission to use their music at campaign and presidential events.

In 2008, the Foo Fighters spoke out against Republican John McCain for using their tune My Hero during his presidential run.

Way back in 1984, Bruce Springsteen had expressed his disapproval of President Ronald Reagan’s use of “Born in the USA.”

With inputs from agencies