List of Epic Rap Battles of History episodes

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]

  1. ^ MacPherson, Guy (June 3, 2014). "Nice Peter hits the road solo for Epic Rap Battles of History". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  2. ^ Hart, Hugh (June 29, 2014). "Make Every Second Count: 8 Rules for YouTube Success From the Creators of Epic Rap Battles". Fast Company. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  3. ^ "ERB's YouTube Stats (Summary Profile) - Social Blade Stats". Social Blade. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  4. ^ Pham, Alex (August 1, 2013). "Exclusive: Maker Studio's Epic Rap Battles Scores RIAA Gold". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  5. ^ "2013 'Landmark Year' For RIAA's Gold & Platinum Program". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on July 16, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference RIAA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Epic Rap Battles of History News. ERB News. YouTube. December 16, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  8. ^ "Epic Rap Battles of History CD". DFTBA Records. Archived from the original on June 28, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  9. ^ "Epic Rap Battles of History Season 2". iTunes. May 22, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  10. ^ "Season 3 Limited-Edition CD". Epic Rap Battles of History. Archived from the original on August 11, 2015. Retrieved June 29, 2015.