Hi. IAmA (WeAreThe) creators of the Epic Rap Battles of History: Nice Peter (nicepeter), EpicLLOYD (epiclloyd). Ask us anything!

You guys are my heroes! I have introduced you to many MANY people around where I live and they all love you.

1. both: What was your favorite character to do and why?

2. lloyd: Dis raps for hire, does peter have any involvement with those?

also, boba fett vs deadpool. seriously. best battle ever.

1) I liked playing Beethoven a lot. I got to be angry and dark and sullen and it felt good to let that kind of shit out.

I think my only involvement so far has been when Lloyd told me the idea for dis raps I said "that's awesome"

Seriously, someone pay this guy. Anyone who wants Boba Fett VS Deadpool is a genius. (No sarcasm intended, I want that battle so bad) :D

Upvote for Deadpool vs Boba Fett rap battle!

Pay him too. :)

okay, payments around for everyone.

I'm constantly shouting "EAGLE!"; however, to date, one has not appeared.

What am I doing wrong?

do you carry dead fish in your pockets? if not, try that.

hahaha

I'm still hoping for Mythbusters vs. Ghostbusters, definitely a joke cash-cow.

It's on the table for sure.

I'd bet you could get the actual Mythbusters on-board for that one. They love fan-stuff like that.

get the mythbusters as the ghostbusters.

lol thats a funny idea.

How the hell did you guys get Snoop Lion?

We met him and he liked our videos. I think.

Nicepeter: how did it feel to be Putin for those few, glorious minutes?

Also, have you guys ever had an actual rap battle in real life? and finally, Leno vs Letterman, dammit!

being Putin was fun. shaving my chest was not.

First all, I absolutely love ERB! The Doctor Who vs. Doc Brown rap was dope!

1. Has anyone featured in a rap battle responded to you?

2. What is your own personal favorite verse?

1) the producer of Napoleon Dynamite sent me a really nice email, thanking us from using his character in the series. I was blown away. I also got an email from the makers of Angry Birds thanking us for using it on Stephen Hawking's chair. 2) I would not could not on a boat. and Lloyd's first verse in the one that comes out Monday. It's got a vicious flow.

What possessed you to do ghenis khan vs the Easter Bunny?? It is so unrelated lol

I thought it was funny. and it was easter.

Does Lloyd always do the short, evil, dictator characters?

yes.

Clint Eastwood!

Nicepeter: Will you consider doing a Special Philosophy Rap Battles of History? Perhaps Socrates Versus Bertrand Russell? Or Descartes VS Chomsky or something similar

We are strongly looking at Socrates vs Confucius.

Did you guys really use fruity loops to make that beat?

Fruity Loops user here. Also want to know

Yes. We didn't use Fruity Loops because we don't make our own beats from scratch. The producer on Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates was Tristan from Hamsquad (also did Vader hitler 1 and Obama Romney) and we confirmed with him that he used Fruity Loops to make it.

You guys should use George Watsky again. He's been great both times.

yeah, Watsky is an incredible talent, he just keeps getting better with his music. hope to work with him again soon.

Are there any personalities that are "off limits" for battles?

with time no. sometimes stuff happens and it's just too much of a raw nerve to hit right away (i can't think of any examples right now) but i think everything is fair game after a while.

Steve Irwin?

Yeah Steve Irwin is pretty off limits for me. that dude holds a special place in my heart.

George Zimmerman?

George Zimmerman vs OJ Simpson would be baller

Casey Anthony vs Terri Schiavo would be the most politically incorrect thing ever.

hahaha

Will Freddie Mercury return?

I don't know. I think he's said his piece. but maybe.

What rap battle would you do over if you had the chance?

I would love to do better editing work on Hulk Hogan vs Kim Jong Il.

Did you have any copyright issues?

never have so far.

Hey Peter (and Lloyd)!

First, I wanted to tell you that I met you two years ago in Champaign-Urbana, IL at Digitour 2011. You gave me this (http://i.imgur.com/wwJoXn1l.jpg) which is still my favorite autograph I've ever gotten to this day. When I met you I had never heard of you, street music with Kassem, or Epic Rap Battles of History. But you left a lasting impression because you were SO nice when I met you, that I went home and subscribed to everything that you do. You're an amazing musician, and I hope you come around here again. Not The Prettiest is probably my favorite of your songs.

Anyway, my question is- can you elaborate on what happened with you and Digitour? I attended in Chicago in 2012 in hopes of meeting you again (even got VIP to make it happen) and you left the tour like two shows before mine. I know you've explained it a bit before, but it's been awhile.

Love you! Keep being awesome.

I'm sorry that happened. it was just a mess from the start and I was a bit of a mess personally at the time and it all went badly. it makes me very happy to know you're still interested in the music and seeing another show, and I will try to make it out that way as soon as I can.

Many people loved Stephen Hawking's entry into Epic Rap Battles. Any chance of seeing him again?

I think he'll always be around in some way or another. Having him rap again could be really fun, I wish we could just make an album sometimes, the song creation part is my favorite. Making the video adds a level of time and editing and planning that makes it hard to do as many songs as we would like.

Since you said video production gives you less time for doing as many songs as you'd like, would you guys ever release a few new extra rap battle audios over breaks? :) It'd be really neat & not all EPIC songs need videos.

that's smart. I hadn't really thought of it until doing this ama. I don't mean to get all lofty but this is my favorite part of making youtube videos. the ideas that come out of talking with a large group of people about different options and ways to do it. there are ideas out there that we can't think of ourselves, or maybe just wouldn't have the confidence to do if people weren't cheering us on. I might tear up into my coffee. shit.

From a financial standpoint, how much does it cost to run your operations?

a lot.

I'd love to see a Scottish character get some love. Any chance?

William Wallace is always on the list, just waiting for the right matchup

Does this pay well, or do you guys have jobs besides this?

it pays well enough now for sure. we're lucky to get a lot of views, youtube revenue is pretty modest, and it gets split up a lot of ways before it gets to us, but we definitely get by. it's a very good thing we do, because we wouldn't have time to work other jobs. it's a 7 days a week gig when we're really cranking.

Have you ever checked out the Epic Rap Battles of History wiki? We've been awaiting your arrival. :) Plus, do you have a favorite rap battle?

the ERB wiki is my favorite battle.

Hello from Russia! We love you, guys. Come to Moscow :3

I'll be there sometime in the next couple years. gotta visit my ancestor's homeland, yo.

How much did you guys enjoy getting hit by Kassem?

i didn't get hit but i very enjoyed watching peter get hit. sorry buddy.

Kassem is my spiritual advisor. it was like getting slapped by the ghost of christmas present.

What's the weirdest suggestion you ever got for a Rap Battle?

we get a lot a lot a lot of PewDiePie vs Tobuscus, and I love those dudes, I just don't understand it as an epic rap battle of history, never have. I would so much rather see Tobuscus come in as Socrates or Thomas Jefferson or some shit.

I am glad that you made that clear in the last ERB news. Same goes for Homer Simpson vs Peter Griffin. It was posted on every video, which is a bit much.

yes, a bit much indeed.

what would you do for Klondike bar

nothing. I don't like those much. I'd maybe trade a blowpop.

I noticed that Epic Lloyd usually plays the bad guy and Nice Peter usually plays the good guy, but then I watched Christopher Columbus vs. Captain Kirk again, and it seemed to be the other way around.

Was that a purposeful choice, or did it just happen to work out that way?

Just happened to work that way. Lloyd plays a better handsome man, I have a knack for the sickly.

Have you guys ever been randomly recognized in the street by passing fans? What's it like? Does it feel gratifying?

Yes. When it first started happening it freaked me out. I wasn't ready to be recognized, I got famous faster than I was prepared for, and I didn't feel that good about myself inside, so when I saw people in real life and they said "Hi, you're awesome" I just felt like "oh... no I'm not, I just pretend to be awesome on youtube"
I slowly got more used to where I'm at in life right now, and got more comfortable with who I am and what I'm doing, and now I love meeting people who like our work and want to say hello. It is gratifying nowadays, yes.

Hi guys, I've heard your next battle will "sponsored" by Assassin's Creed as they let you use their ship. Does this mean that in the future more of these arrangements may happen, for instance McDonald's giving you access to resources if you feature Ronald McDonald as a character?

The announcement of Assassin's creed letting us use their pirate ship graphics was given by Adam Smith, a historical dude known for his theories on free markets and demand driven economies. That was our way of trying to be both clever and honest, they are giving us money to help promote their video game. We said yes because we think their video game is awesome, and pirates are awesome, and money is pretty awesome too. I don't think McDonald's is awesome, I think they make shitty unhealthy food. If I wrote a rap about Ronald McDonald I want to would tear his creepy clown ass so wide open I don't think McDonald's would be too happy to work with us. I know it's a popular suggestion, and I used to eat McDonald's when I was younger, so I get it, and I hear you. But it goes way too much against what I believe in, so I don't want to get involved with them.

@ Peter : What kind of coffee do you make?

I have a nespresso machine. it rocks my world.

Who does the intros? Peter or Lloyd?

the announcer.

No question, just want to say that I love your raps and think that your beats and flow are highly underrated.

oh and Mitt Romney vs Barrack Obama was probably the best one you have done!!

(Lincoln won btw)

thank you. the romney obama beat was produced by Tristan. He also made Vader vs Hitler 1 beat, and Steve Jobs vs Bill gates beat. he's a very talented dude.

How long does it take to make lyrics,clothes and how long do you take editing it?

Sulai Lopez makes the costumes and we rarely give her enough time. She works long hours on the weekends last minute because we are always adding new things. "hey Sulai, we need two swords and a giant purple anteater!"

lyrics can take days or hours, it's weird. if we do enough research and the beat is right and the mood is right it can come out in a blast. Lenin came out like that, Michael Jackson came out like that. But one of the ones coming up, we had to just sit and grind on the lyrics for days, just wiggling words into place until it worked.
Editing is the longest part, it usually takes between 6-12 long computer days, with several different people on different computers.

Are there ever some lyrics you remove from a rap battle for fear they'll be too offensive?

yeah we've taken out a few things that are a bit much even for us.

What all goes into picking match-ups?

Do you try to go for more historical match-ups over pop culture ones? Do you look for unique things that the opposing characters have in common? Do you make sure that you have a good concept for how the battle will go before selecting a match-up? Etc. etc.

Also, I'm a big fan of MC Mr. Napkins, and I loved his portrayals of Einstein, Doc Brown, and Sherlock Holmes! It seems to me he is (or, at least, was) involved in the writing of the rap battles. Does he help out with every battle, and what exactly does he do? By extension, do the guest YouTubers you have in many of the rap battles participate in much of the writing and behind-the-scenes aspects, or do they mostly rap and record?

Sorry for the long post!

Cheers, -Chaz

long one. My basic philosophy has always been this: if the two characters bumped into eachother at a party in trans dimensional space, would they have beef?
Mc Mr Napkins aka Zack Sherwin is a superstar on the writing team. He has written some great lines in a lot of battles. He does help with every one. Basically we send him the matchup and the beat and he cranks out lyrics for both characters that we work into the song as a whole. Sometimes its complete lines, sometimes its variations of his work.
Some guests help us write, some guests rap and perform. It's different every time.

I want to say I truly appreciate the work that you and your entire crew put into making the rap battles! You've created something to be proud of. My question is this: is there a chance of seeing Ash Ketchum vs Charles Darwin this season? I've seen it suggested, and I'm quite fond of the "Masters of evolution" match-up. How do you feel about it? Thanks for doing this AMA and keeping it real with the fans!

hey dude, thanks. We've talked about Ask Ketchum, I like it. always hard to say which ones we like will actually make it all the way through production. I feel like great battle matchups are a little like sperm, they have a long way to swim and only one at a time can make it. that's a little weird sounding now that I see it, but whatever.

Hi, I'm a big fan of erp and have watched all your videos countless times. Nice Peter- Do you usually have to do more than one take when you do a picture song, or do you just come up with everything on the spot everytime?

many many takes for a picture song. usually two days of them at least. it has to have an improv element so we have to keep switching out pictures every time. i love those videos but they are a really weird kind of hard to make.

Hi guys! I want to say thank you for being totally awesome and making such cool things for all of us. My roommates and I gather round the tv to watch ERBOH on our youtube app, and its really solidified our friendships. One quick question for nicepeter. I am on a speech and debate team and our mascot is the sparkling unicorn. Could we get a shout out? So excited for season 3! Keep up the amazing work!

Let this be an official shout out to the Debate team of the Sparkling Unicorn. -nice peter

I've noticed you fellas posting about Breaking Bad a lot on the ERB facebook page. Any chance of a Breaking Bad cast member winding up on ERB? Thanks! P.S - Is it weird my friends and I through out highschool would prefer to jam the rap battles in the car over other music?

no it's not weird. it's awesome. Breaking Bad makes me depressed when I watch it, for some reason. I'm not planning to use ant Breaking Bad characters in ERB, but we weren't planning to work with Key and Peele either, and it happened and was awesome, so you never know.

What was your least favorite costume to wear for an ERB?

anything with a helmet or hat leads to a very unique kind of headache.

I tweeted today but I just wanted to say that today in IB History we were learning about Stalin and the formation of the Communist Party in Russia. I showed my teacher your ERB for the finale of Season 2 and he couldn't stop laughing! Thanks for the history help! :)

:)

Hello ERB! I’m Jessiqua, but people call me AccordionChick. It’d mean a lot to me to hear you respond to me. I just want to let you know to keep up the amazingness of the rap battles & every project that goes on your own channels. I really enjoy everything you guys release! Pete’s Queen covers & Lloyd’s Original raps are my favorite things to hear when I’m feeling down, they brighten my mood :) I was wondering if you’d consider having “Weird Al” Yankovic in a battle. I’ve suggested him on many video comments, tweets, & posts. He is my all time hero & I would love to see him rap! If I had one wish, it would to see him in battle in some shape or form. There is no doubt he has great musical significance. I would really like to see him as himself, but if not I can see him playing some pretty cool historical figures like Sir Isaac Newton hint hint I also want to suggest: - Liberace VS Sir Elton John - More historical women like Amelia Earhart, & Eleanor Roosevelt - Dr. Seuss VS Shakespeare rematch Thanks for everything you guys do!

we would LOVE to have Weird Al. I got to meet him last year and he seemed interested. I think Isaac Newton is a brilliant idea.

Just how far do you guys plan on taking ERB? Do you want to see it on a world tour, or are you happy where it is now?

How does ERB affect the time you put into your respective solo careers?

Are you guys personally ok with ERB leapfrogging your personal careers?

Btw, great job on ERB also, can't wait for the day you start touring internationally :)

I have no idea. As long as it's fun I suppose. ERB has taken over my solo career for the time being, but I'm at peace with it. As far as leapfrogging, yeah, I'm at peace with that too. It is what it is, I tried for many years to be a successful musician, so far I've found the most success when I dress up an make music as other people. I think there' something for me to learn there, and someday I'll probably learn it. I don't plan to make rap battles for the rest of my life, but I do plan to make music for the rest of my life, and I'm learning new things and introducing my name to new people every day I work on ERB, so in the big picture I think it's all good.

Hey guys! This is actually my first chance catching an AMA at the beginning...

EpicLLOYD: What was your favorite memory from going to UMass? (studying there currently and I love it)

Nice Peter: The first five words that pop into your head are the title to your autobiography, go. Btw, been a longtime fan since a little before The Station days, keep up the awesomeness!

But seriously I love both of your work and I remember sitting there watching the first ERB and thinking to myself "man...this is lame, it'll probably never catch on...Nice Peter should make more picture songs." and boy was I happy to be wrong.

:) My life as a dude.

What made you choose to do YouTube rather than a "normal" job?

my last job was delivering pot brownies for a bakery here in Los Angeles, it wasn't hard to leave.

Do you guys ever fight about rap battles? Like who's going to say what or who to even be?

we have disagreements like anyone but we really try to be objective and never let it get personal. i come from a family of brothers and we fought a lot. i don't think Pete and I have ever actually fought about anything.

except this bullshit answer. how could you, lloyd? I'm done. are you still picking me up in ten minutes?

Hello Peter and Lloyd, I am a huge fan of you both, and I was wondering what was your inspiration for the ERB? Also, any tips for an aspiring video maker?

thanks. my biggest tip would be to aim high and don't settle. sometimes you need to do another take, and then another take, and then another take, only to throw them all out and do it again. but it's worth it. in editing, the smallest details can change everything. every frame should feel good, and if it doesn't it can be fixed, trust that little nagging voice in your head that says "something wasn't right there" and dive in and fix it until you love it.