GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has modified his campaign strategy after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from rapper Eminem.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a GOP presidential candidate, had been incorporating rapping into his campaign events as a distinctive approach to connect with voters when he took to the stage in Iowa.
According to The Daily Mail, Grammy-award winning rapper Eminem issued a cease-and-desist request to Ramaswamy’s campaign, expressing his objection to the use of his songs during the campaign events.
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Performing rights organization BMI told Ramaswamy’s campaign Wednesday that it “has 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,” according to The Daily Mail.
“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 said.
Ramaswamy, 38, responded Monday on X, formerly Twitter saying: “Will The REAL Slim Shady Please Stand Up? He didn’t just say what I think he did, did he?”
Ramaswamy’s campaign decided to adjust their strategy, and halt the use of Eminem’s songs during campaign events, according to NBC News.
“To the American people’s chagrin, we will have to leave the rapping to the real slim shady,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the campaign, told NBC News on Monday night in a text message.
Ramaswamy performed Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” in front of an enthusiastic crowd in Iowa on August 12.
Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa asked Ramaswamy during her Fairside Chat series about his approach to working with young people.
Ramaswamy told her that he was encouraged to see so many young people attending the event and that one of his favorite songs was from Eminem, before later performing an impromptu concert.
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Reynolds said with a laugh that she would have to look up the song and that Ramaswamy was clearly in touch with his generation. The GOP presidential candidate cracked a joke beforehand that many people considered him too young at 37 to be president of the United States, and that he was glad to have turned 38 this month.
Connecting with young people is one of the most important parts of his campaign, Ramaswamy said. The presidential candidate also explained to Reynolds that he believed in the young people of this country, but that they needed to learn about civics in the same way that immigrants “like my parents did.”
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