Nice Peter (left) and EpicLLOYD (right), the creators of Epic Rap Battles of History
Epic Rap Battles of History is a YouTube series created by Peter "Nice Peter" Shukoff and Lloyd "EpicLLOYD" Ahlquist. The first episode of the series "John Lennon vs. Bill O'Reilly" was released on September 26, 2010. All Season 1 episodes were uploaded to Shukoff's personal YouTube channel, Nice Peter. Following the show's popularity and success, Ahlquist and Shukoff partnered with Maker Studios, and created two channels devoted to the series. ERB hosts the finished episodes, and ERB2 features behind-the-scenes footage.
On September 26, 2010, "John Lennon vs. Bill O'Reilly", the first music video was released on Shukoff's channel, where the rest of the first season was released.[1][2] Since the second season, ERB music videos have been distributed through its own YouTube channel. As of December 2023, it is the 282nd most subscribed channel on YouTube with over 14.9 million subscribers and over 4 billion total views.[3] As of October 26, 2024, a total of 89 episodes have been released.
In 2013, the single "Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney", was the first YouTube music video to achieve a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[4] "Darth Vader vs. Hitler" and "Einstein vs. Stephen Hawking" also achieved RIAA gold certification during 2013.[5] "Dr. Seuss vs. Shakespeare", "Master Chief vs. Leonidas", "Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates" and "Justin Bieber vs. Beethoven" were subsequently certified Gold in 2014.[6] On June 4, 2015, "Mario Bros. vs. Wright Bros.", "Mr T vs. Mr Rogers" and "Abe Lincoln vs. Chuck Norris" achieved RIAA gold certification.[6] On January 29, 2016, "Darth Vader vs. Adolf Hitler 2" was certified gold.
ERBOH Season 1, the series' first album was released on a compact disc through DFTBA Records in December 2011, including all 15 tracks from the first season of the series, including 2 bonus live tracks.[7][8]Epic Rap Battles of History Season 2 was digitally released on May 22, 2013, on iTunes through Maker Studios.[9]Epic Rap Battles of History Season 3 was released in 2014 through the official ERB website's online shop.[10]
Note: Release date is technically September 22, 2010 as there is a censored version of the rap battle released 4 days before the main version which was released on September 26, 2010.[12]
Mongolian Emperor Genghis Khan (EpicLLOYD) battles against the holiday mascot of Easter, the Easter Bunny (Nice Peter).
Cameo appearances: Aaron Zaragoza as Christian main figure Jesus Christ, Dante Cimadamore as Jesus Quintana from The Big Lebowski, Kurt Schmidt[18] as 'A Man Named Jesus', and Jon Na as Genghis Khan's descendants.
Note: In reference to the fact he had throat cancer in real life, Dr. Seuss does not rap himself; instead, he summons his characters The Cat in the Hat (Nice Peter) and Thing One and Thing Two (EpicLLOYD) to participate in the battle for him.
Cameo appearances: Omar Gharaibeh and Jon Na as Star Trek characters Spock and Hikaru Sulu, respectively, and Mary Gutfleisch as a 'Hot Alien' who is beaten up by Kirk.
The creators of Epic Rap Battles of History, Nice Peter and EpicLLOYD, battle against each other as fictionalized versions of themselves.
The battle ends with KassemG intervening to resolve the conflict and suggest to Nice Peter and EpicLLOYD to make a second season and also to create a YouTube channel specifically for the series. The video ends with an announcement of season 2.
Cameo appearances: Nice Peter and EpicLLOYD appear as various characters they have played throughout season 1.
Season 2 (2011–2013)
From the second season onwards, the battles were moved to their own YouTube channel, ERB.
Darth Vader (Nice Peter) thaws out Adolf Hitler (EpicLLOYD) at Jabba the Hutt's palace after freezing him in carbonite in season 1, before challenging him to a rematch.
The battle ends with Hitler being dropped into the Rancor pit.[20]
Cameo appearances: Nice Peter as Stephen Hawking, Morgan Cristensen as a Stormtrooper from Star Wars, and Verona Blue as Boushh the Bounty Hunter, in which Darth Vader disguises as.
Cameo appearances: Jeana as Leonidas' wife Gorgo, EpicLLOYD as Leonidas' son Pleistarchus (credited as Six Year Old Son), and Gabe Michael and Dante Cimadamore as Spartans.
Midway in the battle, Steve Jobs leaves to "turn heaven a profit" (a reference to his real-life death). HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey (voiced by Nice Peter; representing artificial intelligence as a whole) joins the battle, challenging Bill Gates as a third party.[22]
Halfway through the battle, The Tenth Doctor is shot by a Dalek controlled by Brown, forcing him to regenerate into the Fourth Doctor (George Watsky) for his second verse.
Cameo appearances: EpicLLOYD as Back to the Future protagonist Marty McFly, and Dante Cimadamore as a Dalek from Doctor Who.
Cameo appearances: Nice Peter as unnamed 'Mustached Cowboys' who attempt to shoot down Clint Eastwood, but are shot by him instead, and Xin Wuku as unnamed 'Urban Ninjas' who Bruce Lee battles and defeats mid-battle, and who act as Bruce Lee's stunt double.
Cameo appearances: Nice Peter and EpicLLOYD, credited as 'White Preachers', each appear briefly in the respective crowds. Several actors appear as members of the Civil Rights March and the Indian Rights March.
American inventor Thomas Edison (EpicLLOYD) battles against American electrical engineer Nikola Tesla (portrayed by Dante Cimadamore; voiced by Cimadamore and Nice Peter).
Adolf Hitler (EpicLLOYD) escapes from the Rancor pit and challenges Darth Vader (Nice Peter) for a final rematch.
At one point during the battle, Vader's bounty hunter Boba Fett (voiced by Ray William Johnson, portrayed by Atul Singh and Brian Neunhoffer) briefly joins in, but is then shot by Hitler. The battle ends with Hitler getting sliced in half by Vader.[31][32]
Cameo appearances: Xin Wuku as Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag protagonist Edward Kenway; Bryce Wissel, Shaun Lewin and Donnie Davis as pirates; Shaun Lewin, Yev Belilovskiy and Dante Cimadamore as gangsters.
Cameo appearances: Bob the dog as Lump. Characters from past episodes, including Billy Mays (Collin J. Sweeney), Mr. Rogers (Nice Peter), and the Fourth Doctor (George Watsky), reappear.
Note: This battle portrays Trump as a businessman and television personality, nearly three years before he would assume his position as the 45th president of the United States.
Cameo appearances: Kai and Naya Berman as Ignorance and Want (credited as Children Ghosts) from A Christmas Carol.
The former MythBusters "Build Team", consisting of Tory Belleci (Chris Alvarado), Kari Byron (Mary Gutfleisch), and Grant Imahara (KRNFX), join the battle to back up Hyneman and Savage. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (voiced by EpicLLOYD, portrayed by Taylor Cu) from Ghostbusters also joins the battle to face both teams as a third party.[44]
Cameo appearances: Brooke "Dodger" Leigh Lawson as Ghostbusters character Janine Melnitz.
The Greek god of thunder, Zeus (voiced by Nice Peter), battles against the Norse god of thunder, Thor (voiced by EpicLLOYD).[46][47]
Note: The video was filmed using stop motion animation with Lego minifigures by Forrest Whaley, Sean Willets and Zach Macias.
Cameo appearances: Various characters from Greek and Norse mythology appear as background characters. A Lego version of actress Natalie Portman (as Padmé Amidala from Star Wars) briefly appears.
Talk show host and media proprietor Oprah Winfrey (Nikki "November Christine" Jenkins) battles against fellow talk show host and actress Ellen DeGeneres (Lauren Flans).[50][51]
American illusionist David Copperfield (Nice Peter) battles against Hungarian-American illusionist and stunt performer Harry Houdini (EpicLLOYD).[56]
Note: Tony Clark served as the consultant for the magic tricks and illusions performed in the video.
Cameo appearances: Dante Cimadamore as American magician and illusionist Criss Angel, Josie Ahlquist as Houdini's wife Bess Houdini, Lauren Francesca as Copperfield's wife Chloe Gosselin (credited as Copperfield's Assistant), and Tony Clark as a police officer.
Henson's most famous creation Kermit the Frog (voiced by Nice Peter) performs the first verse with him before Henson puts him away in the second. Near the end, entertainment mogul Walt Disney (Zach Sherwin) — whose company owns Marvel Comics and The Muppets – joins the battle.[61][62]
Cameo appearances: Mary Gutfleisch as Disney animators.
Star Wars antagonistic bounty hunter Boba Fett (voiced by Nice Peter, portrayed by Ivan "Flipz" Velez) battles against comic book antihero Deadpool (voiced by EpicLLOYD, portrayed by Robert Hoffman).[63][64]
Cameo appearances: Edward Vilderman, Dante Cimadamore, EpicLLOYD and Forrest Whaley as "street toughs". Nice Peter and EpicLLOYD as rebel soldiers.
Cameo appearances: Rudy Fermin, Ricky Mammone, and Ceciley Jenkins as A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones characters Jon Snow, Hodor, and Daenerys Targaryen (credited as Khaleesi), respectively. Joey Greer as a human warrior and orc. Sulai Lopez and Shaun Lewin as elves. Dante Cimadamore as rock band Led Zeppelin (John Bonham, John Paul Jones, and Jimmy Page). EpicLLOYD as The Goonies character Mikey Walsh.
Cameo appearances: Michelle Maloney, Layne Pavoggi, Yev Belilovskiy, Ceciley Jenkins, and Jay Houn as Ramsay's production team. Felicia Folkes, Sulai Lopez, Dante Cimadamore, and Mike Betette as the "Blue Team" from Hell's Kitchen. A dog named Pebbles also made a brief appearance in the video.
Alexander dies after being poisoned by a drink given by Ivan. King Frederick the Great of Prussia (EpicLLOYD) appears and continues the battle. Ivan attempts to decapitate him with a garrote wire, but Frederick has already died silently in his armchair. Roman general Pompey the Great (Mike Betette) attempts to take up the battle, but is abruptly beheaded by Empress Catherine the Great of Russia (Meghan Tonjes), who then finishes the battle.
In the final verse, the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln (Nice Peter), returns once again from season 1 to criticize both running candidates, but ultimately takes Clinton’s side against Trump.[71][72]
The creators of Epic Rap Battles of History, Nice Peter and EpicLLOYD, battle for the second time against each other.
In the end, they apologize to each other after their argument climaxes, and they decide to take a break and write their next song.
Cameo appearances: Dante Cimadamore as himself. Atul Singh, Matthew Schlissel, Shaun Lewin, Brittany White, Ashlyn McIntyre, Morgan Christensen, Sulai Lopez, Jon Na, Jose "Choco" Reynoso, Josh Best, Ryan Moulton, Javi Sánchez-Blanco, Andrew Sherman, and Kyle Herman as the ERB Crew.
Business magnate, SpaceX CEO/founder and Tesla, Inc. founder Elon Musk (EpicLLOYD) battles against Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg (Nice Peter) – a reference to the Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg feud.
Note: This battle is also considered to be an unofficial premiere of Season 6, according to EpicLLOYD.
Flash in the Pan Hip Hop Conflicts of Nowadays (2018–2019)
Flash in the Pan Hip Hop Conflicts of Nowadays is a pseudo-spinoff of Epic Rap Battles, created without the complex visual effects and accents normally used for the original series. Instead, Shukoff and Alquist rap together in the same room, over one take. This approach was used for rap battle ideas that the two considered worthy of a rap battle, but not worthy enough to demand a full production.[78] "Ronald McDonald vs. The Burger King" would later go on to earn a fully-produced rap battle in Season 6.
YouTuber PewDiePie (EpicLLOYD) battles against a representation of Indian music record label T-Series (Nice Peter) – a reference to the PewDiePie vs. T-Series YouTube subscriber battle.
DC Comics supervillain The Joker (Nice Peter) battles against Horror villain Pennywise the Clown (EpicLLOYD) from the two theatrical movie adaptations of Stephen King's 1986 epic supernatural horror novel It.
Note: The video was filmed using stop motion animation with Lego minifigures by Forrest Whaley, Sean Willets and Zach Macias.
Cameo Appearances: Nice Peter as Star Wars characters Han Solo and Yoda and The Jackpot Golden Boys as Ron, Fred, and George Weasley from Harry Potter. Several other characters from the Harry Potter and Star Wars universe make appearances as background characters. A lego version of singer Selena Gomez also briefly appears.
Cameo appearances: EpicLLOYD as 42nd president of the United States, Bill Clinton, and Nice Peter as himself being beheaded by an executioner (portrayed by an uncredited actor).
Note: Originally intended to be part of the second season, but was left unfinished. The video was later released in its incomplete state.[79]
Season 7 (2021–present)
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, ERB chose to transition into a seventh season early rather than continuing Season 6.
American billionaire and founder of AmazonJeff Bezos (EpicLLOYD) battles against Mansa Musa of the Mali Empire (Scru Face Jean), considered one of the wealthiest men in history.
Note: The episode was sponsored by the service NordVPN.
Cameo Appearances: Atul Singh as an Amazon worker, EpicLLOYD as Captain Kirk (reused footage), and an Amazon Echo with Alexa.
In the final verse, the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt (EpicLLOYD) returns from season 5 to criticize both running candidates.
Cameo Appearances: Nice Peter as Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States.
Viewership
Note: View counts are accurate estimations as of January 1, 2025
^ abThis date is technically September 22 as there is a censored version of the first rap "John Lennon vs. Bill O'Reilly" battle released 4 days before the main version which was released on September 26, 2010.[11]
^This is a combined viewcount of both censored and uncensored versions.
^This is a combined viewcount of both original and new edit versions.