Miley Cyrus vs Joan of Arc, George Washington vs William Wallace, and Ghandi vs Martin Luther King Jr are just a few of the massively viral ‘rap battles’ that dominated Youtube throughout the early 2010’s and still continue to garner tens of millions of views. Published on the ‘ERB’ channel, they tell the significant events and characteristics of historical figures and cultural icons through ‘burns’ and ‘disses’ to the backdrop of a catchy hip-hop beat. It’s education, comedy, parody, and original music all in one place. Filmed on a relatively low budget, they utilise unknown actors and green screen to create stimulating visuals in their music videos. However, are creators such as ERB undermining historical significance? And has YouTube given the wrong people the mic? 

YouTube enables users to create videos on minimal budget, contributing to its popularity and allowing for greater creative freedom without strict regulations. (Wilson, 2024) ‘ERB’ targets tweens to teens and reanimates and almost parodies historical figures in order to both “educate” and incite humour. ‘ERB’ encapsulates what it means to reconfigure cultural iconography into a 21st century setting, and YouTube has been integral in these transformations. Carol Vernallis states ‘For the first time we have seemingly unlimited access to an array of digitally enhanced media that present new configurations of time and space’ (Vernallis, 2013). What she eludes to is that YouTube and online spaces have altered our perceptions of historical events which reigns true in reference to ‘ERB’. Due to the young demographic of these videos, the academic references in the songs are lost. How can you focus on Joan of Arc as a symbol of faith and resilience when she’s calling Miley Cyrus a ‘ratchet skank’? They have even published videos with presidential candidates as their subjects, with ‘Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton’ (2016) garnering 106 million views. YouTube has allowed a platform for uncensored propaganda to reach impressionable audience communities, and whilst they are funny and somewhat “educational”, does ‘ERB’ undermine the important stories within history and politics?

‘Epic Rap Battles of History’ symbolises a cultural shift in the way we perceive history and culture, and YouTube as a vessel has allowed this. It depicts the blurring of definable genre in online spaces. By giving regular people the power to become creators, YouTube has given complete autonomy in painting the picture they want their audience to see, therefore manipulating iconography that has held significance for thousands of years.

S, Wilson (2024) ‘The Art Of Music Videos: From MTV To YouTube’ Bloomsbury 

C, Vernallis (2013) ‘Unruly Media: YouTube, Music Video, and The New Digital Cinema’ MIT Press

ERB (2016) ‘Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton. Epic Rap Battles of History’ ERB https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbryz0mxuMY

Written by Lara Shaw 33695257