Barack Obama raps Lose Yourself after introduction from Eminem at rally

Former US president Barack Obama rapped the words to Eminem’s 2002 track Lose Yourself after he was introduced at a rally in Detroit by the rapper.

The Grammy-winner appeared on stage to support Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, making a short speech about the importance of freedom of speech, before introducing Mr Obama.

“I have done a lot of rallies, so I don’t usually get nervous,” Mr Obama said.

“But I was feeling some kind of way following Eminem,” before he rapped the words to Lose Yourself – the theme song to Eminem’s semi-autobiographical film 8 Mile.

“I thought Eminem was going to be performing, I was going to jump out,” the 63-year-old joked, before adding: “Love me some Eminem.”

Eminem told the rally that he was at the event “for a couple of important reasons”, ahead of the 2024 presidential election next month.

“As most of you know, the city of Detroit and the whole state of Michigan mean a lot to me,” the 52-year-old 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.

“I also think 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.”

The Harris campaign has featured a host of famous faces, with singer Bruce Springsteen scheduled to appear at a rally in Atlanta on Thursday and Oscar-winner Julia Roberts campaigning for Harris in Georgia earlier this month.

It comes after an announcement featuring likenesses of stars including Michael Douglas, Chris Rock and Amy Schumer aimed to warn voters about artificial intelligence (AI) deepfakes ahead of the US election.

Others likenesses included Laura Dern and Orlando Bloom, while the real Rosario Dawson and Jonathan Scott also appeared in the video.

A US anti-corruption charity named RepresentUS said the likenesses of the celebrities were used in the video with permission.