Eminem‘s longtime producers and their manager are behind a new lawsuit against a Ford dealership in Michigan that allegedly used “Lose Yourself” in a commercial without permission.
Brothers Mark and Jeff Bass, musicians and producers who worked with Em for many years, along with their longtime manager Joel Martin, filed suit in federal court on Monday (January 27) against LaFontaine Ford St. Clair, the St. Clair, Michigan location of the LaFontaine Automotive Group, a large vehicle dealership group in the state.
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The Bass brothers and Martin are behind Eight Mile Style, LLC, the company that publishes many of Em’s songs. The company claims in the suit that in fall 2024 LaFontaine, without authorization, used “Lose Yourself” in a commercial for a limited edition Detroit Lions Ford F-150 pickup truck.
The suit also says that the commercial, shared on social media, contained a caption that referenced the song’s lyrics. “You only get one shot to own a Special Edition Detroit Lions F-150. With only 800 produced, you only get one shot to own a Special Edition Detroit Lions 2024 PowerBoost Hybrid F-150,” it allegedly read.
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The commercial was reportedly viewable on Facebook as recently as Monday evening, but has since been removed.
Eight Mile Style is asking for at least $150,000 in damages and for a notice to be posted on LaFontaine’s website saying that their use of the song was illegal.
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While Em is not directly involved in this lawsuit, he did comment on a different unauthorized use of his songs: a series of unreleased songs leaked from his vault.
Dozens of tracks from across the last 20 years leaked earlier this month, including collaborations with the likes of 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Slaughterhouse, Nate Dogg and Anderson .Paak.
In a statement to XXL, Em’s longtime spokesperson Dennis Dennehy criticized the leaks by saying: “These leaked songs were studio efforts never meant for public consumption… demos, experiments and ideas that are dated and not relevant so many years later.”
He added: “[They’re] the latest in a line of unfinished material released against artists’ will and without their permission.”
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Frequent Eminem collaborator and Aftermath producer Fredwreck also issued a strongly-worded warning to the culprit, writing in a since-deleted post on X: “FYI to the criminal who’s leaking Eminem’s music. We will find you. Street law will be applied.
“Ask ‘Koolo’ what happened to him last time he leaked. We know where he lives and yes this is a threat.”
