Barack Obama Raps “Lose Yourself” After Introduction By Eminem At Kamala Harris Rally

The 2000s! What a decade! What a great time! One day, we’ll all tell our grandkids that we lived through the 2000s, and we will watch as respect just emanates from their eyeballs. We should make sure that the 2000s never, ever die. Anyway, Eminem introduced Barack Obama at a Kamala Harris rally in Detroit yesterday, and then Obama rapped the first couple bars of “Lose Yourself.”

Tuesday’s Detroit rally was one of several big swing-state events in which superstars give their Kamala Harris endorsements; people like Bruce Springsteen, Michael Stipe, and Jason Isbell have also put in appearances at recent Harris campaign events. Michigan, Eminem’s home state, is a crucially important battleground in this election, and Harris has really imperiled her ability to win a state with a significant Muslim population by refusing to push back forcefully on Israel’s genocidal warfare. It’s hard to imagine an Eminem endorsement counteracting that, but that’s what she’s going with.

Introducing Barack Obama, Eminem made a very brief speech that only alluded to politics in the vaguest of terms: “People shouldn’t be afraid to express their opinions, and 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.”

Rapper Eminem introduces former President Barack Obama at a Detroit rally for Vice President Kamala Harris. pic.twitter.com/SGURWEGAMw

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) October 23, 2024

When Eminem finished talking, Barack Obama walked out to “Lose Yourself,” and he opened his speech by quoting a few of that song’s lines. Obama didn’t exactly rap those lyrics. It’s more accurate to say that he quoted those lines in his own patented Obama cadence: “I gotta say, I have done a lot of rallies, so I don’t usually get nervous. But I was feeling some kind of way following Eminem. I notice my palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy! Vomit on my sweater already! Mom’s spaghetti! I’m nervous, but on the surface, I look calm and ready! To drop bombs, but I keep on forgetting! [Sings guitar riff.] I thought Eminem was gonna be performing; I was gonna jump out! Love me some Eminem!”

Obama raps Eminem's "Lose Yourself," after being introduced by the rapper at a rally for Harris in Detroit, MI. pic.twitter.com/MqXJzplZPY

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) October 23, 2024

Eminem and Barack Obama barely interacted with each other onstage, but they did pose for a photo at some point.

Eminem and Obama in new photo. pic.twitter.com/a4MTuWq22T

— Pop Base (@PopBase) October 23, 2024

Donald Trump also made a campaign appearance with some Detroit rap stars back in June, but his was with Icewear Vezzo and Peezy. (Really.) Since then, Icewear Vezzo has also reportedly met with Kamala Harris. You know this election cycle is a weird one when both major candidates are actively courting the Icewear Vezzo vote.