EpicLLOYD

Lloyd Leonard Ahlquist (born January 18, 1977), better known by his online alias EpicLLOYD, is an American internet personality and rapper best known for the YouTube video series Epic Rap Battles of History,[1] along with Peter "Nice Peter" Shukoff.[2][3] Ahlquist has performed as an MC, actor, improviser and writer.[4] In addition to the rap battles, Ahlquist, along with Shukoff, appeared in a cameo in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.

Lloyd Ahlquist
Ahlquist in 2014
Ahlquist in 2014
Background information
Birth nameLloyd Leonard Ahlquist
Also known asEpicLLOYD
Born (1977-01-18) January 18, 1977
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Internet personality
  • comedian
  • singer
  • rapper
  • songwriter
  • producer
Years active1999–present
Websiteerbofhistory.com

Comedy and theater

Ahlquist was formerly the General Manager and Artistic Director of M.I.'s Westside Comedy Theater.[5] Ahlquist also studied at UMass Amherst and later trained in Chicago (where he met his frequent collaborator Peter Shukoff)[6] at The Second City, Improv Olympic and Annoyance Theatre. Ahlquist was one of the founding members of Mission IMPROVable, and continues to perform with the group weekly in their show "The Grind"[7] while serving on the Board of Directors of M.i. Productions.[8] He founded the comedy troupe after dropping out of the University of Massachusetts with five classmates.[9]

In August 2014, Ahqluist hosted YouTube's first live-streamed improv comedy event, "Off the Top."[10] A trailer for "Epic Studios", a show starring Ahlquist, was released in 2015 and the first episodes were posted to his personal YouTube channel in April 2017.[11][12]

YouTube

Solo channel

Lloyd runs his own YouTube channel that launched on April 20, 2011. Ahlquist has a staple series on his own channel, titled "Dis Raps For Hire", which features Ahlquist taking a user-submitted comment asking Ahlquist to lyrically "destroy" or insult another person that is bullying or harassing the user.[13][14] To date, 20 "Dis Raps for Hire" have been produced. Season 2 of "Dis Raps for Hire" started on March 11, 2013.

On July 17, 2012, Lloyd's channel hit 200,000 subscribers. As a "thank you" gesture, he produced a parody of the Cinnamon challenge.[15] In 2016, Lloyd hit 400,000 subscribers. By 2021 he had 495,000 subscribers.

Starting in 2017, EpicLLOYD has also run the series Epic Studios, where he portrays a fictional version of himself as he struggles to keep the Canadian music studio he inherited from his father from being turned into condos.

Epic Rap Battles of History
Further information: Epic Rap Battles of History

In 2010, Ahlquist partnered with singer and rapper Peter Shukoff to create Epic Rap Battles of History under Maker Studios[16] sometime after Ahlquist, Shukoff and Zach Sherwin (a guest in the rap battles), were playing Check OneTwo, a freestyle rap improv game where they took suggestions from the audience of famous people to battle rap off the top of their heads.[17] Ahlquist has played several characters in the successful[17][18] rap battles, and has specialized in playing villains such as Bill O'Reilly and Adolf Hitler.[19] Epic Rap Battles of History received four wins at the 3rd Streamy Awards, with Ahlquist receiving one of the four awards.[20] By October 2014, the rap battles accumulated a total view count of over 1 billion, excluding the hundreds of millions of views earned by the season 1 episodes.[21] As of early 2020, the Epic Rap Battle channel had over 3.4 billion views.[22]

Personal life

Ahlquist grew up in Exeter, New Hampshire and graduated from Exeter High School.[23] He married Dr. Josie Hutchinson, a student affairs educator, on 18 October 2009 in Malibu.[24] They live in Los Angeles.[25][26]

Discography

Albums
  • Dis Raps for Hire - Season 1 (2013)
  • Here EP (2016)
  • Dis Raps for Hire - Season 2 (2018)
  • A Bad Name for Rappers (2019)

Songs
  • Dis Raps For Hire - Charles
  • Dis Raps For Hire - Southwest High School
  • Dis Raps For Hire - Christian
  • Dis Raps For Hire - Jennifer
  • Dis Raps For Hire - Justin
  • Dis Raps For Hire - James
  • Dis Raps For Hire - William, Reshad, and Tyrance
  • Dis Raps For Hire - Daniel
  • Dis Raps For Hire - Joan
  • Gift Raps For Hire - Momma Metcalf
  • Dis Raps For Hire - Glasscock
  • Dis Raps For Hire - Jason and Ramone
  • Dis Raps For Hire - Steven, Lucas, Mark, and Nelson
  • Dis Raps For Hire - EthanAlways
  • Dis Raps For Hire - Diamond
  • Dis Raps For Hire - Jerome
  • Dis Raps For Hire - Katrina & Cheyenne
  • Dis Raps For Hire - This Guy
  • Dis Raps for Hire - Cory
  • Gift Raps for Hire - Brandon
  • The L-Verse
  • Coming Up Short
  • Pawn
  • Ninja
  • Mr. Nothing
  • I Aint Got No Watch (I Aint Got No Bling)
  • New Things
  • Holding The Seams Together
  • Scars
  • Cheap Beer
  • Space
  • Pops Over the Falls
  • Goodbye

Filmography
YearTitleRoleNotes
2010–presentEpic Rap Battles of Historyvarious rolesweb series
2011X-Men: First Class RejectsProf. Doug Xavierweb short
2011The LeagueDr. Andre NodickSeason 3, Episode 1, "The Lockout"
2012Ninja - Part 2Sam Macaroni web video[27]
2012Epic Rap Battle of ManlinessJoggerRhett and Link web video[28]
2013Key & PeeleRap Battle HostEpisode #3.1
2014The Most Popular Girls in SchoolDarren DarabondEpisodes 50–52
2015The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of WaterSurfer Dude, Seagull
2016Crossroads of History[29]LLOYDweb series
2016Dirty 30Homeless Man
2021The Mystic CrystalKnight #1Ninja Sex Party web video[30]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Show Category Result Recipient(s)
20133rd Streamy AwardsBest Writing: ComedyNominatedPeter Shukoff, Lloyd Ahlquist
Best Original SongWon-

References
  1. "COACH LLOYD ALQHUIST DOING IT WELL…". USS Rock N Roll. July 30, 2012. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  2. Trevor Gould (January 5, 2012). "Q&A with Epic Rap Battles of History co-creator Epic Lloyd". Northern Arizona News. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  3. "Epic Rap Battles of History: Sherlock vs. Batman". Starpulse. November 27, 2012. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  4. "About Epic Rap Battles". Epic Rap Battles of History. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  5. "Ahlquist, Lloyd". Westside Comedy. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  6. "Meet the Two YouTubers Behind Epic Rap Battles of History, Which Has Racked up More Than 2.9 Billion Views". August 2018.
  7. "The Grind".
  8. "LLoyd Ahlquist". Mission Improvable. Archived from the original on January 24, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  9. 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.
  10. Spangler, Todd (July 31, 2014). "YouTube Worldwide Live Improv Comedy Event to Be Hosted by Epic Rap Battles' Lloyd Ahlquist". Variety. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  11. Gutelle, Sam (March 9, 2015). "'Epic Rap Battles' Star Lloyd Ahlquist Plans 'Epic Studios' Web Series". Tubefilter. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  12. Gutelle, Sam (April 27, 2017). "'Epic Rap Battles Of History' Co-Star Lloyd Ahlquist Premieres New Web Series 'Epic Studios'". Tubefilter. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  13. "Epic Lloyd will destroy you". Mimic Lives. May 11, 2012. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  14. "Don't Party". Archived from the original on May 18, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  15. A Cinnamon Challenge Thank You. EpicLLOYD. August 2, 2012. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2022 – via YouTube.
  16. "EpicLLOYD". ReverbNation. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  17. Michael Humphrey (October 26, 2011). "Epic Rap Battles of History: Talking Brash Wit With A YouTube Hit". Forbes. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  18. Angela Watercutter (February 1, 2012). "Video: Master Chief Faces Off Against Leonidas in Epic Rap Battle". Wired. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  19. "Vader takes on 'Hitler' in historical rap battle". CNN Geek Out. December 22, 2011. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  20. Bryce J. Renninger (February 20, 2013). "'Halo,' 'Burning Love,' and 'Epic Rap Battles' Lead 3rd Streamy Award Winners". IndieWire. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  21. Gutelle, Sam (October 1, 2014). "'Epic Rap Battles of History' To Begin Weekly Battles On November 10th". Tubefilter. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  22. "ERB SocialBlade profile". Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  23. 1995 Exeter Area High School Yearbook. Exeter: Exeter High School. 1995. p. 21.
  24. "Hutchinson-Ahlquist". Casper Star-Tribune. August 2, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  25. "Josie Ahlquist".
  26. EpicLLOYD [@TheEpicLLOYD] (March 20, 2015). "@wilfroumy yep. Go blue Hawks" (Tweet). Retrieved December 25, 2022 – via Twitter.
  27. Sam Macaroni. "Ninja - Part 2 with Epic Lloyd". SamMacaroni.com. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  28. EPIC RAP BATTLE of MANLINESS. Rhett & Link. September 12, 2012. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022 – via YouTube.
  29. Crossroads of History. "Equal Rights for Women". YouTube. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  30. The Mystic Crystal - NSP. Ninja Sex Party. June 9, 2021. Archived from the original on December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022 – via YouTube.
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