Epic Rap Battles of History. They’re EPIC. They’re rap battles. They’re not really historical, but they are hysterical, so we’ll let it go. Since 2010, Nice Peter (Peter Shukoff) and EpicLLOYD (Lloyd Ahquist) have made over 80 episodes of Epic Rap Battles of History and still counting. While the YouTube series’ viewership peaked years ago as pop culture moved on, Nice Peter and EpicLloyd have kept Epic Rap Battles of History going for over 10 years. Their most recent battle was Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden.
While all Rap Battles are epic, some are more epic than others. It’s tempting to list only episodes featuring guests stars “Weird Al” Yankovic, Key & Peele, T-Pain, and other famous people, but that would be doing the series a disservice. Epic Rap Battles of History isn’t great because it gets famous people to appear as another famous figure. It’s great because combines history with modern pop culture to get something you must see to fully appreciate.
We could have cheated and made 8 top 8 lists. However, we worked hard to narrow the list down to our Top 8 episodes that exemplify why the series is so popular. Because the series relies so much on the current zeitgeist, each episode serves as a time capsule.
8. Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg
A flossin’ Elon Musk calls himself Tony Stark and Mark Zuckerberg proudly proclaims his “CEO of Knowing What You Think Inc” in this rap battle from December 2018. It comes complete with references to the bizarre stuff going on around that time.
7. Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates
Officially, this is between the two people who had the biggest impact on our computer-dependent world, yet HAL 9000 steals the show by playing the role of Watson, the IBM supercomputer best known for winning Jeopardy!
6. Theodore Roosevelt vs Winston Churchill
The only way to describe Theodore Roosevelt vs Winston Churchill is as a dick measuring contest between the two world leaders most likely to engage in one.
5. Darth Vader vs Hitler Part 1
Two of histories evilest villains go head to head in an illogical rap battle that exists purely for comedy value.
Want to see how it ends? You’ll need to check out Part 2.
4. Sir Isaac Newton vs Bill Nye
Sir Isaac Newton vs Bill Nye has two guest stars. Weird Al Yankovic appears as Newton, who steals the show until Chali 2na (Jurassic 5) crashes his party as Neil deGrasse Tyson.
3. James Bond vs Austin Powers
There’s a lot going on in James Bond vs Austin Powers. The first half is Daniel Craig (Ben Atha) as Bond rapping against Austin Powers. The second half becomes an inter-bond rivalry when Sean Connery joins the battle and Austin Powers watches in disbelief.
2. Moses vs Santa Claus featuring Snoop Dogg
Somehow, they got Snoop Dogg to play Moses. Poor Santa never had a chance.
1. Ronald McDonald vs The Burger King
The fast-food giants take on each other and wind up losing to a third, Wendy. It’s best to let the mascots speak for themselves.
Did we get this list right? Did we get it wrong? You decide! To check out Epic Rap Battles subscribe to their YouTube Page.
