Barack Obama raps Lose Yourself after introduction from Eminem at rally

The former US president appeared at a rally in Detroit to support Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who is running for the White House against Donald Trump

Barack Obama rapped Eminem’s iconic hit Lose Yourself after an introduction from the hip-hop star.

The former US president, 63, drove the crowd wild at a rally in Detroit on Tuesday, as he made a speech to support Democratic presidential nominee - and current vice president - Kamala Harris. Eminem, who is from Detroit, took to the stage to introduce Obama as he threw his own support behind Harris. He told the packed audience he was at the event “for a couple of important reasons”, and said the upcoming election was incredibly important for his home state.

“As most of you know, the city of Detroit and the whole state of Michigan mean a lot to me,” the 52-year-old rapper said. “And going into this election, the spotlight is on us more than ever, and I think it’s important to use your voice. So I’m encouraging everybody to go out and vote please.” Eminem touched on the controversial comments made by Donald Trump, who is the Republican presidential nominee, and pleaded with people to “express their opinions”.

“I don’t think anyone wants an America where people are worried about retribution, of what people will do if you make your opinion known. I think Vice President Harris supports a future for this country where these freedoms and many others will be protected and upheld,” he said to wild cheers. He then introduced Obama, who stunned the crowd when he began rapping the lyrics of Eminem’s epic 2002 track Lose Yourself, from the rapper’s semi-autobiographical film 8 Mile.

“I have done a lot of rallies, so I don’t usually get nervous,” Obama said, smiling. “But I was feeling some kind of way following Eminem. I noticed, my palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, vomit on my sweater already, Mom's spaghetti.” The audience began cheering, as Obama continued: “I'm nervous but on the surface I look calm and ready, to drop bombs but I keep on forgetting…”

The 63-year-old laughed as the crowd cheered, and quipped: “I thought Eminem was going to be performing, I was going to jump out. Love me some Eminem.” The rapper previously endorsed President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the 2020 election, and used his 2002 song in an official ad campaign for the Democrats in the run-up to the election. With the song playing in the background of the ad, Eminem simply captioned it: “One opportunity… #Vote.”

He’s also been a vocal critic of the vice president’s opponent, Donald Trump, and in his track The Storm, Eminem called Trump a “b***h and slammed him for his comments about a White nationalist rally. In 2017, he released another song called Framed that also heavily criticised the controversial politician. “That’s an awfully hot coffee pot/Should I drop it on Donald Trump? Probably not/But that’s all I got till I come up with a solid plot,” he rapped.

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