Secret Service checks Eminem's 'dead president' lyric

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The Secret Service is trying to determine if any action needs to be taken regarding a lyric from rapper Eminem that may be a threat to President Bush.

The lyric comes from a bootleg Eminem recording -- one of several from the rapper making rounds on the Internet over the past week.

In the song called "We Are American," Eminem sings: "(Expletive) money, I don't rap for dead presidents. I'd rather see the president dead."

Dennis Dennehy, a spokesman for the Grammy- and Academy Award-winning rapper, told CNN the song was not ready for release.

"This was an unfinished song, either lost or stolen," Dennehy said. "There was no determination where, when, how or if it was going to be used."

A Secret Service probe is routine when something that could be construed as a threat to the president is brought to agents' attention.

"Dead presidents" is slang for cash because of the depiction of several presidents on currency.

The reference to seeing the president dead does not specify the president of the United States.

"We are aware of the lyric and are in the process of determining what action, if any, will be taken," said Secret Service spokesman John Gill.

The music has been circulating on fan sites, on peer-to-peer networks and in hip-hop chat rooms.

There is no indication that the rapper was complicit in the release of the bootleg song.

"It would be saying too much to make too big a deal out of this," one Secret Service official said.