About

Epic Rap Battles of History, initialized as ERBOH or just ERB, is an immensely popular YouTube video series created by Nice Peter Shukoff and Epic Lloyd Ahlquist. The series consists of rap battles between well-known people, both real and fictional, that are usually premised based on some similarity or other connection shared by both.

History

Epic Rap Battles of History officially launched in 2010 with "John Lennon Vs. Bill O'Reilly", though a previous unreleased attempt and "prototype", "Michael J. Fox Vs. Chucky", came earlier.

The majority of characters in the series are portrayed by Peter and Lloyd, though most episodes, especially later ones, have guest stars, which have included Zach Sherwin, George Watsky, Rhett and Link, Smosh, Jenna Marbles, Pewdiepie (though only as a cameo), and many more. Even A-list, professional, "real" rap star Snoop Dogg made an appearance, as Biblical hero Moses no less.

There are currently 70 and counting official Epic Rap Battles of History across five seasons of production. Quality and quantity of content as well as production values have notably escalated over the course of the series.

Content

Vader Vs. Hitler

The second official battle of the series, Darth Vader Vs. Adolf Hitler, was responsible for launching the popularity of the series, becoming the "flagship" matchup of the franchise and getting not one but two sequels/rematches, released as the premieres for the second and third seasons, respectively.

Suggestions/Ideas

Each battle ends with the announcement of "WHO WON? WHO'S NEXT? YOU DECIDE!", and indeed, the successive new matchups for the series are largely based upon viewer suggestions usually left in comments, and those chosen to be adapted by the crew are in fact shown alongside the "YOU DECIDE!" announcement. The majority of the respective comments sections for all the ERBOH videos on YouTube consist of suggestions for future battles, and in turn arguments over said suggestions and what constitutes worthy/acceptable "material" for the series.
Some ideas that have made it into ERBOH specifically due to popular demand have included Goku Vs. Superman, Rick Grimes Vs. Walter White and Ghostbusters Vs. Mythbusters, while other common ones that regularly receive numerous upvotes in comments, such as "Homer Simpson Vs. Peter Griffin" and "Pewdiepie Vs. Tobuscus" have been effectively rejected.

ERB News

Epic Rap Battles of History generally releases battles in "waves" of six every week or two, with months-long hiatuses in-between each batch, and shortly before each wave goes into production, "ERB News" videos are released, which usually consist of a screaming Theodore Roosevelt (complete with the catchphrase greeting of "WHAT'S UP, BITCHES!") talking about the series' plans and encouraging ambitious suggestions. The most recent such video even featured Teddy arguing with his equally-famous relative Franklin D. Roosevelt over what content is appropriate for future ideas, mirroring the aforementioned real fighting over suggestions.

Fandom

Epic Rap Battles of History has a very active fandom, constituting a whole genre effectively inspired singlehandedly by it (see below). Community sites such as Epic Rap Battles of History Wiki and the Epic Rap Battles of History Forum are thriving hubs of activity.

Other "Epic Rap Battles" inspired by the series proper are countless; many only exist in script form and are made just for fun, while others are full-fledged serial productions, such as Epic Rap Battle Parodies, Uber Rap Battles of Fiction and Moleman's Epic Rap Battles.