Eminem has officially endorsed Democratic nominee Joe Biden for president. On Monday (November 2), Slim Shady fired off a tweet in support of Biden and vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris, which included a campaign video that puts his 2002 smash hit “Lose Yourself” to good use.
He wrote in the caption, “One opportunity…#Vote.”
One opportunity… #Vote https://t.co/sCUhq4dvAN
— Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) November 2, 2020
In the black-and-white clip, shots of every day Americans with masks on are shown lined up to vote as Eminem raps, “Look, if you had one shot/Or one opportunity/To seize everything you ever wanted/In one moment/Would you capture it/Or just let it slip?”
From there, the song explodes into the chorus, “You better lose yourself in the music, the moment/You own it, you better never let it go/You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow/This opportunity comes once in a lifetime … you better.”
“Lose Yourself” is taken from the soundtrack for the 2002 film 8 Mile. The song marked Shady’s first chart-topping Billboard Hot 100 single and also earned him an Oscar in the Best Original Song category at the 2003 Academy Awards. He skipped the performance that year but made up for it at the 92 Annual Academy Awards in February.
Speaking to Variety, he explained why he performed the song all those years later.
“I kinda figured maybe since I didn’t get a chance to do it at the time, maybe it would be cool,” he said. “Back then, I never even thought that I had a chance to win, and we had just performed ‘Lose Yourself’ on the Grammys with the Roots a couple of weeks before the Oscars, so we didn’t think it was a good idea.
“And also, back at that time, the younger me didn’t really feel like a show like that would understand me. But then when I found out I won, ‘That’s crazy!’ That to me shows how authentic and real that award is — when you don’t show up and you still win. That makes it very real to me.”
More recently, “Lose Yourself” crossed the one billion streams mark on Spotify, further solidifying its success.
Eminem Explains Why He Performed 'Lose Yourself' At 2020 Oscars In Rare Interview
The 2020 presidential election takes place on Tuesday (November 3) when current POTUS Donald Trump and Biden will face off in what many are calling the most important election in United States history.
