Well before I fully comprehended the media juggernaut that YouTube would end up being, there was a little thing I loved called Epic Rap Battles of History.
I'm a big fan of humour - things like this, Weird Al, Literal Videos, The Key of Awesome... they really get me through when I'm feeling low.
They were particularly helpful to me when I was going through a really bad time filled with stress and anxiety. I'd never been confident with public speaking, but about a year and a half ago, I developed a random stutter, and sometimes when I spoke, it was barely intelligible or it was but I was speaking faster than Eminem on Rap God. For the life of me, I could not slow down because if I did, I'd start to stutter. It made my life hard, and embarrassing. Believe me, I certainly didn't need more help with that!
So, I made a CD for my car, updated my Ipod, played my way through multiple YouTube playlists of ERB at home - initially to make myself feel better and because I liked them so much. I found that eventually, I could sing along to these without screwing up and I slowly gained more confidence.
Sure - it wasn't the only factor. But it was a big help in getting me to where I am today - someone who can go on a massive rant and be understood the entire time, even if my rantee tunes out.
That and they're just awesome. A lot of Youtubers will just upload crap every day for the views they need. ERB put things up but only when they're satisfied it's good.
I've personally thought rap music would be better if they got rid of the rappers. Everyone complains about pop singers always being about love and things like that but rappers? With a few exceptions, they are the worst offenders for being racist, sexist, promoting crimes and the new thing.. mumble rapping, rhymes that don't rhyme and brag rapping. Like.. is there nothing else you can talk about?
In three minutes or less - ERB produces a great beat, has lyrics that they've actually thought about and researched (plus they rhyme), costumes and sets that are carefully prepared, excellent guest stars and they always surprise you.
So why does actual rap suck so much compared to this?
They've been on a hiatus for a few months now (almost a year! Can't breathe!) but two days ago they uploaded a video to explain their absence and their future.
Epic Lloyd has made an album, a new show and lost some weight while Nice Peter... has made a baby. As of the video, they were about 20 weeks and on screen they revealed that they were having a girl. Nice Peter's joy and excitement was just so real that you can't help but be happy for them.
A commentator mentioned that Nice Peter missed his chance to say 'I made this... with my nice peter!' which is a fair point but I guess his partner was just off screen and they wanted to keep it classy.
I knew they did tours and were doing their own albums and what not as well as having a break but this time it seemed longer than usual.
Usually there's a mid season or pre season teaser... sometimes involving the ghost of a former dictator or Roosevelt. This time there wasn't so I was surprised to see the update featured Lloyd and Peter.
Anyway - personally, I really hope they come back for a season six (I think they will, they seem to love their job - and I'm jealous I don't get to do this for a living) but I wish Peter and his partner the best of luck with their new bundle of joy.
I'm a big fan of humour - things like this, Weird Al, Literal Videos, The Key of Awesome... they really get me through when I'm feeling low.
 |
| Or Key of Awesome guest starring in ERB.... |
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| Or Weird Al featuring on ERB... |
They were particularly helpful to me when I was going through a really bad time filled with stress and anxiety. I'd never been confident with public speaking, but about a year and a half ago, I developed a random stutter, and sometimes when I spoke, it was barely intelligible or it was but I was speaking faster than Eminem on Rap God. For the life of me, I could not slow down because if I did, I'd start to stutter. It made my life hard, and embarrassing. Believe me, I certainly didn't need more help with that!
So, I made a CD for my car, updated my Ipod, played my way through multiple YouTube playlists of ERB at home - initially to make myself feel better and because I liked them so much. I found that eventually, I could sing along to these without screwing up and I slowly gained more confidence.
That and they're just awesome. A lot of Youtubers will just upload crap every day for the views they need. ERB put things up but only when they're satisfied it's good.
I've personally thought rap music would be better if they got rid of the rappers. Everyone complains about pop singers always being about love and things like that but rappers? With a few exceptions, they are the worst offenders for being racist, sexist, promoting crimes and the new thing.. mumble rapping, rhymes that don't rhyme and brag rapping. Like.. is there nothing else you can talk about?
In three minutes or less - ERB produces a great beat, has lyrics that they've actually thought about and researched (plus they rhyme), costumes and sets that are carefully prepared, excellent guest stars and they always surprise you.
So why does actual rap suck so much compared to this?
They've been on a hiatus for a few months now (almost a year! Can't breathe!) but two days ago they uploaded a video to explain their absence and their future.
Epic Lloyd has made an album, a new show and lost some weight while Nice Peter... has made a baby. As of the video, they were about 20 weeks and on screen they revealed that they were having a girl. Nice Peter's joy and excitement was just so real that you can't help but be happy for them.
A commentator mentioned that Nice Peter missed his chance to say 'I made this... with my nice peter!' which is a fair point but I guess his partner was just off screen and they wanted to keep it classy.
I knew they did tours and were doing their own albums and what not as well as having a break but this time it seemed longer than usual.
From Inverse
Sky-high success followed, including ownership by Disney’s Maker Studios and A-list guest appearances by Snoop Dogg, Weird Al, T-Pain, and the comedic duo Keegan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele. Then, burnout settled in, as more time and energy went into the show with some episodes costing as much as $25,000 to produce (“Ghostbusters vs. Mythbusters” and “Jim Henson vs. Stan Lee” are, to date, the most expensive in the show’s history). Then, on top of the stress, the 2016 U.S. presidential election in which Donald Trump won on a nationalistic platform shook the young, progressive talents at their core.
“We have a lot of different ethnicities and races and sexualities [behind the scenes], and we were scared,” Shukoff says. “People were confused. We didn’t know what it meant.”
During the 2012 race, the show produced “Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney,” which starred Obama impersonator Iman Crosson and Ahlquist as the former Massachusetts governor. The battle ends with Abraham Lincoln (Shukoff), one of ERB’s most popular characters (“Abraham Lincoln vs. Chuck Norris” was an early hit), flying on a truly majestic Bald Eagle, rapping his verse before slapping the candidates, not out of malice, but to make them shape up and be leaders. Four years later, it was an entirely different story.
“It was an upsetting process,” Shukoff says of making “Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump” in 2016. Behind the scenes, the show’s performers and writers take great care into researching their characters, be it Julius Caesar, Michael Jordan, or the Ninja Turtles. “We go into these characters and find their voice, to understand what they would say. Normally we’ve done that with character we revere. Figueres that are mythic,” Shukoff explains. “When it came time to understand Donald Trump, it was a dark place.”
Shukoff says the Clinton/Trump rivalry was “tough to spoof” because “it was a dark, sick joke.” The rap battle starred YouTuber Kimmy Gatewood as Clinton and Ahlquist playing Trump, in a notably different caricature of the casino magnate-turned-president than when Shukoff played him in the Christmas-themed “Donald Trump vs. Ebenezer Scrooge” from 2013.
When the battle was released in late October last year, days before November 8, Shukoff realized how alluring Trump was to a young, digital audience. At the end of the video, which has more than than 54 million views, Lincoln slaps Trump twice. Honest Abe does not hit Hillary.
“To me, that was not up for debate,” says Shukoff. “Abraham Lincoln is not going to smack Hillary Clinton. Abraham Lincoln was not going to respect Donald Trump. That was an obvious, honest character choice. We saw in the comments anger towards that, and that’s when I got scared.”
“We were isolated in our Los Angeles world and weren’t aware of the anger in the country,” says Shukoff. “It caught us off guard and it depressed the hell out of me.”
Usually there's a mid season or pre season teaser... sometimes involving the ghost of a former dictator or Roosevelt. This time there wasn't so I was surprised to see the update featured Lloyd and Peter.
Anyway - personally, I really hope they come back for a season six (I think they will, they seem to love their job - and I'm jealous I don't get to do this for a living) but I wish Peter and his partner the best of luck with their new bundle of joy.
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