Epic Rap Battles of History

Epic Rap Battles of History (ERB) is a YouTube web series and music project created by Peter "Nice Peter" Shukoff and Lloyd "EpicLLOYD" Ahlquist. The series pits notable historical and pop culture figures, real and fictional, against one another in a rap battle format. The characters portrayed are often determined by suggestions from viewers in the comments sections of the channel's videos. Shukoff and Ahlquist write each song themselves, researching the subject in order to find obscure details to use as references in the lyrics.[1][2] As of August 2, 2020, the channel has over 14.6 million subscribers and approximately 3.527 billion total video views.[3] Following an extended hiatus, the channel returned with a bonus battle in December 2018, and the sixth season debuted on April 20, 2019.[4]

Epic Rap Battles of History
GenreComedy hip hop
Battle rap
Nerdcore
Created byPeter Shukoff
Lloyd Ahlquist
Directed byDave McCary (seasons 1–2)
Jackson Adams (season 3)
Daniel M. Turcan (season 3)
Forrest Whaley (episodes 48, 58 & 81)
Peter Shukoff (seasons 3–Current)
Mike Betette (seasons 3–Current)
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes80 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)Peter Shukoff
Lloyd Ahlquist
Running time1–5 minutes
Production company(s)Maker Studios
(seasons 1–5)
Independent
(season 6-present)
Release
Original networkYouTube
Original releaseSeptember 26, 2010 –
present
External links
Website

Although early episodes of the series featured only Shukoff and Ahlquist, later episodes have regularly featured guest appearances, and other internet celebrities such as Dan Bull, Lisa Donovan, Timothy DeLaGhetto, George Watsky, DeStorm Power, Jesse Wellens, PewDiePie, Jenna Marbles, Lilly Singh, Ray William Johnson, Rhett and Link, and Smosh. Media celebrities like rappers Snoop Dogg, Chali 2na, and T-Pain, singers Jackie Tohn and "Weird Al" Yankovic, actors J.B. Smoove and Gary Anthony Williams, and the comedy duo Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele have also appeared in the series.

On July 3, 2013, "Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney" became the first of its singles to be certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States. 10 other singles, "Adolf Hitler vs. Darth Vader", "Albert Einstein vs. Stephen Hawking", "Dr. Seuss vs. William Shakespeare", "Master Chief vs. Leonidas", "Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates", "Justin Bieber vs. Ludwig van Beethoven", "Mario Brothers vs. Wright Brothers", "Mr. T vs. Mr. Rogers", "Abe Lincoln vs. Chuck Norris", and "Hitler vs. Vader 2", were subsequently certified Gold as well.[5]

History
Dante Cimadamore (left) and Peter Shukoff (right)

The idea for historical figures rapping against each other was conceived by Ahlquist, who pitched the idea to Shukoff as an improvised show titled "Check OneTwo"; both were working in improv at the time along with Zach Sherwin, who would later become a regular guest on the series.[1] They were met with lots of difficulty at first and decided that it would fare much better as a YouTube series than an improv show.[2] The first three rap battles were each shot on a $50 budget.[6]

Before the web series existed on YouTube, Shukoff and Ahlquist recorded their first song, which was a battle between Child's Play antagonist Chucky and actor Michael J. Fox.[7] The song was freestyle and poorly made; as a result, it was not released to the public.

On September 26, 2010, the first rap battle was uploaded to YouTube, featuring Shukoff as John Lennon and Ahlquist as Bill O'Reilly.[2][8]

The 15th episode, called "The Final Battle", marked the end of the first season. This battle pitted Ahlquist and Shukoff against each other with cameos from all of the characters they had played over the 15 episodes. Epic Rap Battles of History later returned on December 8, 2011, hosted on their new channel (moving from Shukoff's personal channel), ERB, with behind-the-scenes videos on their second channel, ERB2.[9] Shukoff and Maker Studios also created the official website for the series,[10] where fans could vote on winners for each video, and read short comical first-person biographies by each character.

On September 27, 2012, following a four-month pause after the "Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates" episode, a video was released on the series' YouTube channel where Ahlquist (voicing to an animation of Theodore Roosevelt) announced that new episodes would be released every two weeks until the Christmas holidays,[11] starting with the 22nd episode "Frank Sinatra vs. Freddie Mercury" (aired on October 1, 2012).[12] "Moses vs. Santa Claus", aired on December 10, 2012, was the last battle before taking a break for the holidays.[13]

On February 17, 2013, Epic Rap Battles of History was nominated for five Streamy Awards, winning four of them.[14] Shukoff and Ahlquist also performed part of the Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates battle live.

On September 9, 2013, ERB uploaded a trailer video on their channel announcing that Epic Rap Battles of History would return on October 7, 2013 for a third season.[15][16] On October 14, ERB released a second video with Ahlquist voicing Theodore Roosevelt, who announced the upcoming season's schedule.[17] The third season went on hiatus after the release of "Donald Trump vs. Ebenezer Scrooge" on December 19, 2013. In March 2014, an episode of Shukoff's weekly show The Monday Show, published on March 11, and a third announcement video of Epic Rap Battles of History News, published on March 18, confirmed that Season 3 would continue on May 5, 2014. "Weird" Al Yankovic, Smosh, and Rhett and Link were also confirmed as guest appearances.[18] The third season concluded with the release of "Artists vs. TMNT" on July 14, 2014.

On September 30, 2014, a teaser video for the fourth season of Epic Rap Battles of History, featuring the Ghostbusters and MythBusters, was released; the series returned on November 10, 2014 with its 46th episode, "Ghostbusters vs. Mythbusters".[19] On December 15, 2014, when "Steven Spielberg vs. Alfred Hitchcock" was released, the fourth season went on hiatus. The season continued on May 25, 2015 and concluded with the release of the season finale, "Jim Henson vs. Stan Lee", on August 3, 2015.

It was confirmed in a podcast by Shukoff that there would be a fifth season, with pre-production starting in November 2015 once they came back from the world tour.

On December 16, the first off-season battle was released, entitled, "Deadpool vs. Boba Fett."

On February 26, 2016, it was announced that Season 5 would begin on May 2, 2016,[20] and on March 22 it was announced that production had begun.[21]

Season 5 officially began on May 2, 2016, with the release of the first battle of the season, "George R. R. Martin vs. J. R. R. Tolkien". ERB released battles every other Monday as of the first half of Season 5.[22] On July 12, 2016, Alexander the Great vs. Ivan the Terrible was released. This marked the midseason break.[23] Ahlquist later confirmed they were planning to return mid to late October. Filming began for the second half of Season 5 on September 23. On October 26, Season 5 resumed with "Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton". The final episode of season 5 was released on January 9, 2017, where Ahlquist and Shukoff battle against each other once again, as it is a sequel to the Season 1 finale. Following the fifth season, ERB went on an extended hiatus.[2]

In 2016, Epic Rap Battles of History was nominated for an Emmy Award in the newly initiated category Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards.

In 2018, Shukoff announced there would be a sixth season during a performance at Anime Midwest.[24] On November 30, 2018, a video was posted on the official ERB YouTube channel, confirming that Season 6 will premiere in 2019. A "bonus battle" between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg was released on December 7, 2018.[25] In December 2018, Ahlquist said that they had gone "fully independent" of their production company.[26]

On April 20, 2019, the Season 6 premiere ("Freddy Krueger vs Wolverine") was released.

Cast

Main cast

Peter "Nice Peter" Shukoff
Main article: Peter Shukoff
Season Reoccurring charactersOne-time characters
1 Abraham Lincoln Darth Vader

John Lennon, Lady Gaga, Hulk Hogan, Ludwig van Beethoven, Stephen Hawking, Easter Bunny, Napoleon Dynamite, Vince Offer, Albus Dumbledore, The Cat in the Hat, Mr. Rogers, Christopher Columbus, Himself

2Master Chief, Luigi, Michael Jackson, Steve Jobs, HAL 9000 (voice), Freddie Mercury, Tenth Doctor, Batman, Santa Claus, Nikola Tesla (voice), Lance Armstrong, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Grigori Rasputin, Vladimir Lenin, Vladimir Putin
3 Blackbeard, Bob Ross, Donald Trump, Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, Rick Grimes, Bill Nye, George Washington, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (voices)
4 Jamie Hyneman, Romeo Montague, Zeus (voice), Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, Ted "Theodore" Logan, David Copperfield, RoboCop, Friedrich Nietzsche, Julius Caesar, Jim Henson, Kermit the Frog (voice)
Bonus Battle Boba Fett (voice)
5 Abraham Lincoln J. R. R. Tolkien, Thomas Jefferson, Austin Powers, Bruce Jenner, Ivan the Terrible, Charles Darwin, Tony Hawk, Himself
Bonus Battle Mark Zuckerberg
6 Guy Fawkes, Ronald McDonald, George Carlin, Jacques Cousteau, Sigmund Freud, Count Dracula, The Joker, J. Robert Oppenheimer

Lloyd "EpicLLOYD" Ahlquist
Main article: Lloyd Ahlquist
Season Reoccurring charactersOne-time characters
1 Adolf Hitler HimselfBill O'Reilly, Chuck Norris, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte, Benjamin Franklin, Gandalf, Thing 1 and Thing 2, James T. Kirk
2 Leonidas I (voice), Mario, Elvis Presley, Bill Gates, Frank Sinatra, Mitt Romney, Clint Eastwood, Robin, Christmas Elves, Adam, Thomas Edison, Babe Ruth, Skrillex, Joseph Stalin, Mikhail Gorbachev
3 Al Capone, Pablo Picasso, J. P. Morgan, Walter White, Superman, William Wallace, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (voices & portrayals)
4 Adam Savage, Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (voice), Clyde Barrow, Thor (voice), Hannibal Lecter, Alfred Hitchcock, Bill S. Preston Esq, Harry Houdini, The Terminator, Socrates, Stan Lee
Bonus Battle Deadpool (voice)
5 HimselfGeorge R. R. Martin, Gordon Ramsay, James Bond (Sean Connery), Bruce Banner, Frederick the Great, Donald Trump, Theodore Roosevelt
Bonus Battle Elon Musk
6 Wolverine, The Burger King, Robin Williams, Steve Irwin, Vlad the Impaler, Pennywise, Thanos

Recurring cast
ActorCharacters
Season 1Season 2Season 3Season 4Season 5Season 6
Zach Sherwin Albert Einstein Dr. Emmett Brown, Sherlock Holmes Ebenezer Scrooge, Stephen King Egon Spengler, Voltaire, Walt Disney Alexander the Great, Wayne Gretzky
George Watsky William Shakespeare Fourth Doctor Edgar Allan Poe
DeStorm Power Mr. T Kanye West Shaka Zulu
Rhett and Link Wilbur and Orville Wright Donatello di Betto Bardi and Leonardo da Vinci Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
Kimmy Gatewood Marilyn Monroe Hillary Clinton
Keegan-Michael Key Mahatma Gandhi Michael Jordan
Jordan Peele Martin Luther King Jr. Muhammad Ali
Timothy DeLaGhetto Kim Jong-Il Sun Tzu
Ray William Johnson Boba Fett (voice), Goku
Dan Bull Jack The Ripper Winston Churchill
KRNFX Grant Imahara, Lao Tzu
Wax Quentin Tarantino Freddy Krueger

Guest appearances

Episodes
Main article: List of Epic Rap Battles of History episodes
Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 15 September 26, 2010 (2010-09-26) November 16, 2011 (2011-11-16)
2 18 December 8, 2011 (2011-12-08) April 22, 2013 (2013-04-22)
3 12 October 7, 2013 (2013-10-07) July 14, 2014 (2014-07-14)
4 12 November 10, 2014 (2014-11-10) August 3, 2015 (2015-08-03)
Bonus Battle December 16, 2015 (2015-12-16)
5 12 May 2, 2016 (2016-05-02) January 9, 2017 (2017-01-09)
Bonus Battle December 7, 2018 (2018-12-07)
Flash in the Pan 3 December 16, 2018 (2018-12-16) TBA
6 TBA April 20, 2019 (2019-04-20) TBA

Awards and nominations
Awards and nominations for Epic Rap Battles of History
Year Award Category Result Recipient(s)
20133rd Streamy AwardsBest Writing: ComedyNominatedPeter Shukoff, Lloyd Ahlquist
Best Online MusicianWonPeter Shukoff
Best Original SongWonPeter Shukoff, Lloyd Ahlquist ("Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates")
Best Music SeriesWonEpic Rap Battles of History
Best Use of Fashion & DesignWonMary Gutfleisch
1st YouTube Music AwardsVideo of the Year[27]Nominated"Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney"
Artist of the Year[27]NominatedPeter Shukoff, Lloyd Ahlquist
20144th Streamy AwardsBest WritingWonPeter Shukoff, Lloyd Ahlquist, Zach Sherwin, Dante Cimadamore, Mike Betette
Music VideoWon"Goku vs. Superman"
Costume DesignWonSulai Lopez
EditingNominatedAndrew Sherman, Ryan Moulton, Daniel Turcan, Peter Shukoff
CollaborationNominatedPeter Shukoff, Lloyd Ahlquist, Snoop Dogg ("Moses vs. Santa Claus")
20155th Streamy AwardsWritingWonPeter Shukoff, Lloyd Ahlquist, Zach Sherwin, Dante Cimadamore and Mike Betette
Costume DesignWonSulai Lopez
EditingWonAndrew Sherman, Ryan Moulton, Daniel Turcan and Peter Shukoff
CollaborationWonPeter Shukoff, Lloyd Ahlquist, Grace Helbig, and Hannah Hart
26th Producers Guild of America AwardsOutstanding Digital SeriesNominatedEpic Rap Battles of History
201627th Producers Guild of America AwardsNominated
68th Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Short Form Variety SeriesNominated
6th Streamy AwardsCollaborationNominatedPeter Shukoff, Lloyd Ahlquist, Meghan Tonjes, Mike Betette and Zach Sherwin
201769th Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Short Form Variety SeriesNominatedEpic Rap Battles of History
gollark: Naturally.
gollark: > yes i would love elon musk to be able to read my thoughts<@293066066605768714> * Elon Musk, the NSA, Facebook, the Chinese government, probably some random programmers working on it, some person in a basement who hackerized it, and anyone standing behind you with some sensor equipment.
gollark: > you mean like neuralink or something?Cool™ SciFi people have been considering brain implant stuff way before elon did elon things.
gollark: Yes, it will be very popular retrospectively at least.
gollark: Idea: make your preferred resource allocation scheme practical via mandatory neural implants to enforce conformity and compliance.

See also

References
  1. Michael Humphrey (October 26, 2011). "Epic Rap Battles of History: Talking Brash Wit With A YouTube Hit". Forbes. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  2. Francisco, Eric (November 29, 2017). "The Dudes Behind 'Epic Rap Battles of History' Eye an Uncertain Future". Inverse. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  3. "ERB YouTube channel statistics - StatSheep". Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  4. "ERB Season 6 Billionaire Bonus Battle is HERE like a Boolean value of 1". @ERBofHistory. December 7, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  5. "RIAA - Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - Epic Rap Battles of History". Recording Industry Association of America. December 30, 2014. Archived from the original on November 4, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  6. "Peter states that first 3 battles cost approx $50" (YouTubbe video). ERB2. 1.25: YouTube. February 16, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2013.CS1 maint: location (link)
  7. "The First Epic Rap Battle of History - Michael J. Fox vs Chucky". YouTube. February 19, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  8. Leslie Kaufman (October 29, 2013). "Making Silly Showdowns for YouTube". New York Times. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  9. "College News grades Epic Rap Battles of History Season 2". College News. December 14, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
  10. "Epic Rap Battles of History". Epic Rap Battles of History. Archived from the original on November 29, 2011. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  11. Sam Gutelle (October 2, 2012). "'Epic Rap Battles' Returns, Will Post 6 Episodes Over Next 3 Months". Tubefiler. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  12. Daniel Perez (October 2, 2012). "'Epic Rap Battles' Pits Queen's Freddy Mercury vs Frank Sinatra In Season 2 Premiere [VIDEO]". International Digital Times. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  13. Lloyd Ahlquist (September 27, 2012). "Epic Rap Battles of History News with Theodore Roosevelt". Epic Rap Battles of History. YouTube. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
  14. "3RD ANNUAL NOMINEES". Streamys. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  15. Epic Rap Battles of History (April 22, 2013). "Epic Rap Battles of History - Behind the Scenes - Rasputin vs Stalin". YouTube. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  16. Epic Rap Battles of History (May 22, 2013). "Epic Rap Battles of History News with Teddy Roosevelt 2". YouTube. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  17. Epic Rap Battles of History (October 14, 2013). "Epic Rap Battles of History News with Adam Smith". YouTube. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  18. "Epic Rap Battles of History News, Season 3.5". YouTube. May 18, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  19. "Epic Rap Battles of History Season 4". Epic Rap Battles of History. YouTube. September 30, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  20. "Dante on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  21. "Epic Rap Battles on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  22. "Dante Cimadamore, "Every other"". Twitter. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  23. ERB (July 12, 2016), Alexander the Great vs Ivan the Terrible - Epic Rap Battles of History Season 5, retrieved July 18, 2016
  24. Nice Peter (July 6, 2018), Untitled, Instagram, retrieved December 9, 2018
  25. Nice Peter (November 30, 2018). "Epic Rap Battles of History News 2018". ERB/YouTube. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  26. Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg. Behind the Scenes, retrieved December 7, 2018
  27. Todd Spangler (October 21, 2013). "YouTube Music Awards Nominees Announced". Variety. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
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