Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney (video)

"Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney" is a song and music video, performed by Iman "Alphacat" Crosson, Peter "Nice Peter" Shukoff, and Lloyd "EpicLLOYD" Ahlquist. It is the 8th episode of the 2nd season of the YouTube video series Epic Rap Battles of History. The video was released on October 15, 2012 on the show's YouTube channel in anticipation of the 2012 US presidential election.

"Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney"
Single by Epic Rap Battles of History
ReleasedOctober 15, 2012
GenreRap battle
Length3:08
LabelMaker Studios
Songwriter(s)Peter Shukoff, Lloyd Ahlquist
Producer(s)Michlle Maloney, Drew Walkup
Epic Rap Battles of History singles chronology
"Frank Sinatra vs Freddie Mercury"
(2012)		 "Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney"
(2012)		 "Doc Brown vs. Doctor Who"
(2012)
Music video
Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney. Epic Rap Battles of History Season 2. on YouTube
Iman Crosson (left, in character) portrayed and rapped as Barack Obama (right).
Lloyd Ahlquist (left) portrayed and rapped as Mitt Romney (right).
Peter Shukoff (left) reprised his portrayal of and rapping as Abraham Lincoln (right).

Music video

The video features President of the United States Barack Obama (portrayed by Iman Crosson) and former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney (portrayed by Lloyd Ahlquist) facing off in a rap battle. Following four back-and-forth verses, former President Abraham Lincoln (portrayed by Peter Shukoff) interrupts the two and begins rapping against both Obama and Romney (Lincoln had previously appeared in the first season of the series, battling Chuck Norris) Lincoln proceeds to "bitch smack" the two before being carried away by an American bald eagle.

As of November 2022, the video has received over 158 million views on YouTube.[1]

Legacy

Two spiritual sequels to the battle, "Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton"[2] and "Donald Trump vs Joe Biden"[3] were made in correspondence with the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. Abraham Lincoln returns in the former as a third party rapper, only "bitch smacking" Trump, though he does make Clinton flinch. This was allegedly done as Peter and Lloyd thought it would not be in Lincoln's nature to hit a woman. Following criticism that the battle was tipped in favor of Clinton as support for her in the election (as her criticism by Lincoln was less harsh than that directed at Trump), "Donald Trump vs Joe Biden" did not feature a third-party rapper.

Reception

The video was one of the most popular viral videos of 2012[4] and was discussed in a New York Times article.[5]

Awards and nominations

The video was nominated for "Video of the Year" at the 2013 YouTube Music Awards.[6]

Certifications

In July 2013, the song was certified Gold by the RIAA, making ERB the first YouTube channel to do so.[5][7]

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[8] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney. Epic Rap Battles Of History Season 2". Epic Rap Battles of History. October 15, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2018 – via YouTube.
  2. "Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton. Epic Rap Battles Of History Season 5". Epic Rap Battles of History. October 26, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2022 – via YouTube.
  3. "Donald Trump vs Joe Biden. Epic Rap Battles Of History Season 6". Epic Rap Battles of History. October 24, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2022 – via YouTube.
  4. Leshock, Marcus (December 19, 2012). "WATCH: YouTube's Top 10 Viral Videos of 2012". WGNtv. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  5. Kaufman, Leslie (October 30, 2013). "Making Silly Showdowns for YouTube". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  6. Pham, Alex (October 21, 2013). "YouTube Music Awards: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, PSY Score Nominations". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  7. Carrasco, Ed (August 1, 2013). "'Epic Rap Battles of History Gets Certified Gold for Their 'Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney' Video". New Media Rockstars. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  8. "American single certifications – Epic Rap Battles of History – Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney". Recording Industry Association of America.
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