Eminem Approves Of Barack Obama’s Dramatic Reading Of ‘Lose Yourself’

Last week ended with an unexpected development: Barack Obama “performed a dramatic reading” (aka recited the lyrics in a speaking tone instead of rapping them) of Eminem’s classic “Lose Yourself.” Eminem himself caught wind of the clip, and he is a fan of the former POTUS’ take on the song.

Over the weekend, Eminem shared the video on his Instagram Story and gave the clip his stamp of approval by adding a folded hands emoji.

In the clip, Obama reads a snippet from his new book, A Promised Land, saying, “When I needed some inspiration on the presidential campaign. I often turned to music. It was rap that got my head in the right place, two songs especially: Jay-Z’s ‘My First Song’ and Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself.’ Both were about defying the odds and putting it all on the line. ‘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 is slip?’”

“Lose Yourself” popped up at another point recently, when the song scored a Joe Biden campaign ad. Meanwhile, Em also made an appearance on Saturday Night Live recently with a cameo in a sketch that re-works “Stan” into a Christmas-themed parody.