Ben Carson just launched his presidential campaign with a remix of Eminem
The retired neurosurgeon and conservative author kicked off his 2016 campaign announcement on Monday with a choir singing a gospel rendition of Eminem's "Lose Yourself."
Eminem, like Carson, is from Detroit and the song is featured in the movie "8 Mile," which depicts Eminem growing up in the city.
Watch Carson's chorus' cover below:
Carson has his own rags-to-riches story based in Detroit and he leaned heavily on his biography during his announcement speech.
The retired doctor was born into extreme poverty but eventually became chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a successful author. He said his experience convinced him the government must never nurture "dependency" on taxpayer-funded entitlements.
"There are many people who are critical of me because they say, 'Carson wants to get rid of all the safety nets and welfare programs even though he must have benefited from them.' This is a blatant lie. I have no desire to get rid of safety nets for people who need them. I have a strong desire to get rid of programs that create dependency in able-bodied people," Carson said.
Carson went on to compare critics of his worldview to "socialists."
"We're not doing people a favor when we pat them on the head and say, 'There there, you poor little thing. We're going to take care of all your needs. You don't have to worry about anything,'" he said. "You know who else says stuff like that? Socialists. And their programs always end up looking the same."