Eminem to presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy: Stop using 'Lose Yourself'

Vivek Ramaswamy went viral rapping an Eminem song. Now the presidential candidate has been rebuffed by the Detroit star.

BMI, the licensing organization that oversees the public performance of Eminem’s songs, delivered a cease-and-desist letter last Wednesday to the Ohio Republican, demanding that Ramaswamy stop performing Eminem’s music.

The letter was first reported by the U.K.’s Daily Mail, and was confirmed to the Free Press Monday by a representative for Eminem.

Ramaswamy is the latest Republican politician to get under the skin of the Detroit rapper, who has roasted George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Trump and others in his music.

Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old Cincinnati native and avowed hip-hop fan, went viral with his onstage rendition of “Lose Yourself” at an Aug. 12 campaign stop in Iowa, where he also said the Eminem track was his favorite walk-on music.

The 2002 anthem, which is Eminem’s career-defining song and one of the biggest hits in Detroit music history, has been carefully guarded over the years by the rapper born Marshall Mathers: In 2017, his publisher successfully sued a right-leaning New Zealand political party for a soundalike version of the song. Three years later, in a rare show of permission, Eminem sanctioned the song for use in an election-week ad by then-presidential candidate Joe Biden.

For public campaign appearances, BMI allows candidates to secure blanket clearance for copyrighted songs via agreements known as “political entities licenses.” Last week's cease-and-desist letter from BMI to Ramaswamy indicated the campaign secured such a deal in May.

But those licenses also allow individual songwriters to revoke permission with written notice. And that’s what Eminem did to Ramaswamy, sources say: Upon his objection, BMI withdrew the Republican candidate's rights to use the Detroit rapper’s songs in public. Any further use of Eminem's songs would be considered "a material breach of the agreement," BMI's letter read.

Eminem joins the Rolling Stones, Neil Young and others who have successfully blocked their songs from being played at campaign events by assorted politicians.

Ramaswamy's camp seemed to take the Eminem shutdown in stride.

"Vivek just got on the stage and cut loose," a spokesperson for Ramaswamy said in a statement to the Des Moines Register and other media outlets. "To the American people’s chagrin, we will have to leave the rapping to the real Slim Shady."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Eminem to GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy: Stop using 'Lose Yourself'