Rapper Eminem banned US presidential candidates from using music

Rapper Eminem asked Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to stop using his music during his campaign.

In a letter sent from August 23 and published by the media on August 28, music licensing unit Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) informed Mr. Ramaswamy’s campaign lawyer that rapper Eminem had contacted them to protest the candidate’s use of his music products.

The famous male rapper also asked BMI to remove all of his works related to the Republican candidate’s election campaign according to the agreement. Mr. Ramaswamy’s representative later confirmed that he had complied with Eminem’s request.

Video Player is loading.

Replay
Present 0:11

/

Time 0:11

Loaded : 0%

Progress : 0%

Unmute

Republican candidate Ramaswamy rapped along to Eminem’s Lose Yourself at the Iowa State Fair. Video: Twitter/@krassenstein

Eminem’s move came after Ramaswamy this month sang along to the male rapper’s song Lose Yourself at an event at the Iowa State Fair. The candidate added to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds that it was his favorite song and he wanted to play it to open every campaign rally.

In an interview with the New York Times, candidate Ramaswamy also expressed his love for Eminem and shared that he performed rap when he was a Harvard student. “I didn’t grow up in the same situation as him, but I very much sympathize with the feeling of being overlooked and not having the high expectations that he expressed in music,” Ramaswamy said.

Ramaswamy, 38 years old, has Indian immigrant parents. Ramaswamy is a technology entrepreneur with no political experience. In the first debate of Republican candidates last week, he faced a series of criticism from experienced opponents.

Former President Trump, the leading Republican candidate, did not participate in the debate. In an interview in July, he praised Ramaswamy and raised the possibility of choosing him as his vice presidential candidate.

A survey released by Emerson College on August 28 showed that Mr. Trump is leading with 50% support, followed by the Florida Governor with 12%. Candidate Ramaswamy ranked fifth with 9% support.