Rapper Reacts to Epic Rap Battles Of History!! | Alexander the Great vs. Ivan the Terrible (FML)

I did not see that coming! Rapper reacts to Epic Rap Battles of History and tries to break his brain. Alexander the Great vs. Ivan the Terrible - who won?
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#ERB #EpicRapBattlesOfHistory #Reaction

[@KnoxHill]

What else should we react to? 🤔 Comment below! Also if you like the song in the intro support ‘U Mad Yet’ now 🖤 kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmrKXnqVapx4mLs

[@nairwal]

steven spielberg vs alfred hitchcock and edgar allan poe vs stephen king for sure!

[@don4key935]

Your song is fire brought me legit into rap with that xD Hope to see you reacting to erb thanos vs oppenheimer :)

[@oskioskioski]

Civilization by Dan Bull (Jack the Ripper from ERB)!

[@ShadowStudiosFilms]

Bill Gates vs Steve Jobs, Edgar Allan Poe vs Stephen King and Adam vs Eve 😀👌

[@patyfire2024]

In terms of pure savagery, Romeo and Juliet vs Bonnie and Clyde, Jack the Ripper vs Hannibal Lecter and Adam vs Eve 👀

[@EricBridges]

"Empress to Tsar 8, bitch" is probably my favorite line in all of ERB. There are so many layers to it. 1) Earlier, Ivan referred to her as Queen. She rejects this and elevates herself higher. 2) Queen to King 8 would be the queen moving to the space where the King starts the game, aka checkmate, following up on all the chess references earlier. 3) Catherine the Great was the 8th Tsar from House Romanov. She is saying that she's not just the Tsar of Russia -- she rules the Russian Empire. 4) here's the best part: in Russian, "-evich" can act as a diminutive, sort of like how you would address a child. "Tsar 8 bitch" is word play on "tsarevich", which was the term used to refer to the *eldest son* of the Tsar. She's literally telling him to sit down and shut up because the grownups are talking.

[@megantouchton4636]

Re your fourth point: THAT IS REALLY COOL.

[@MKDumas1981]

K-k-k-killler Combo!

[@joshuabrown3361]

Catherine's lines are JUST BRUTAL.

[@cgsnascar]

great information on this!

[@JeiHeirumaru]

Clean-ass observation, man That just elevated the bar from a nice bar, to just 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Ralloris]

I just realized that the "Fetch me a drink so I can stay refreshed" might actually be referencing Ivan's first line: "Try to serve Ivan, no surviving". He's telling Ivan to serve him instead.

[@Catlikedrake]

It's about a story of Alexander giving his soldiers water they found and scooped up in a helmet instead of him drinking it when they were crossing a desert

[@yogurtofthemultiverse2200]

​@@Catlikedrakeit can be about both, especially because he pulls out "expansion pack", referring to Ivan calling himself a land expander.

[@Catlikedrake]

@@yogurtofthemultiverse2200 it can honestly be either one but I choose to believe my version as it goes deeper than a witty comeback

[@shaggydog9789]

It's also a reference to the theory that Alexander died following a night of drinking where he was either poisoned or from typhoid fever or malaria that he had already caught.

[@goldenwarrior1186]

@@CatlikedrakeDoesn’t it being both make it even deeper?

[@YugSihtTsuj]

"I weep; it's all so easy..." Legend has it that Alexander, upon realizing that he would never face a real military challenge again, broke down and cried.

[@oorrllaanndduu]

And Alexander wept, seeing as he had no more worlds to conquer. “ Is that the quote you were thinking of?

[@Ballin4Vengeance]

Dude would have gotten to Qin Dynasty China by his 50’s at that pace had he lived long enough. Facing 300k armies three times a week would’ve been a kind of a challenge even for him

[@ekerilaz723]

Yep

[@billy-the-butcher]

@@Ballin4Vengeance to be fair, by that time he'd have placed all the Persians and Indians in his army as well, since he always took the subjugated people to fight with him

[@usonly101]

Sounds like a Sayin

[@theperson8539]

Frederick the Great's death is actually touching, he prepared his own grave next to where he buried his Greyhounds, but he wasn't put there all the way until the reunification of Germany in 1991! Exactly 205 years after his death.

[@Gyledresch]

This man's knowledge of history constantly impresses me. I come for the bar breakdowns, but it's so nice to see someone completely unafraid to drop some real knowledge at the same time.

[@Senpaiaproves]

Ive been thinking about doing the same thing but i have more knowledge on everything that doesnt matter lmao this dude is on a different level with the knowledge thats actually relevant lol

[@drakeadkins6711]

He did confuse Russia and Prussia though.

[@BlackspearGaming]

I love watching historians react to ERB but im always destroyed by his knowledge of history, so nice to see!

[@txaggievet]

He is soooo good at it, I almost wonder if he has already watched it before he commented

[@Galland780]

@@txaggievet I think he watched it before giving review. Maybe he wrote down some notes and talk based on that. Just look how he instantly memorise the lyrics when he repeated it in his previous videos

[@jackbobb2014]

Knox missed a bar: "I would pay a guy to tear out my eyes" is a reference to Ivan the Terrible ordering that the Architect who designed his castle's eyes be ripped out so he could never make anything better.

[@patrickstar5136]

Fun fact about Frederick the great: He was one of the main contributers to the spread of potatoes in Prussia. So much so that potatoes became a very culturally relevant food in Germany. If you visit his grave you'll see that instead of flowers people put potatoes next to it.

[@PolishHussar04]

I didn't knew that

[@pissfather6798]

Isnt there literally a painting of him watching people harvest potatoes as well

[@MKDumas1981]

Potatoes? More like po-gay-toes. Y'know, 'Cause he was gay.

[@calciferhowl4553]

I love the story behind him getting people to accept potatoes as a food source.

[@gandalf_thegrey]

@@calciferhowl4553 I don't know for sure, but didn't he import potatoes but the people regarded it as garbage food with no taste and don't want part of it? Then he set up a potatoe field heavily guarded by soldiers to make them appear valueable, so valueable in fact that people have to guard the fields they grow on. But he instructed the guards to look away and when they still encountered a potatoe thief they should make it appear the the man got away lucky. After that the rumor spread and people were stealing potatoes left and right. And his plan was in full effect.

[@goShinigami]

Btw, the announcer chants "old Fritz" when introducing Frederick the Great. His actual German name was "Friedrich II. (der Große = the great)" and a common nickname for Friedrichs in general is "Fritz". The people really liked the down-to-earth person old Friedrich was (~first servant of state). Also Friedrich II. of Prussia served for over 40 years (1740-1786) earning him the "old" epithat, adding even further to the image of this "nice" king, like a loving, benevolent senior (he outruled torture and extended the education system greatly). Thus he is commenly reffered to as the "Old Fritz" especially since there are multiple Friedrich II. in European medieval history.

[@mamavswild]

That’s really interesting; I just wiki’d him….I’m glad he left when he did…what happened to Prussia would break his heart 😢

[@narliehs1648]

Huh. I didn't know that. 🤔 All this time, I thought they were chanting Lloyd's last name, Ahlquist. Maybe it's a play on both.

[@fabianglathe6131]

Also, Frederick studied Alexander a lot and his "oblique attack tactics" he copied from alexander, so it makes a lot of sense that he picks up his spot in the battle

[@6666Imperator]

didn't know that. This battle in total is so well fabricated though

[@TheCrow2483]

Pompey went to meet Ptolemy and Ptolemy had him beheaded and gifted the head in a box to Ceaser and it pissed Ceaser off as Pompay was his close friend at one point and Ceaser wanted to be the one to end him

[@sentinel7672]

That's actually an interesting point when you consider the fact that Frederick is partially responsible for Catherine becoming Empress of Russia: he got her into the Russian court in order to have her or her mother represent Prussian interests, which backfired when Catherine dove headfirst into everything Russian and her mother thoroughly pissed off the Empress enough to lose all influence in court affairs, if memory serves.

[@Silicoln]

@@sentinel7672 Extra Credits has a great set of videos on her

[@Souledex]

@@TheCrow2483 no he wanted to grant him mercy, well probably. He did for tonnes of the enemy soldiers in the civil war cause he knew it'd just never end and he'd always be looking over his shoulder. He lived through Sulla's purge, he knows nobody wins.

[@SCEmissary]

The "fix me a drink" line felt a bit strange to me too, but makes sense. Half into the battle Alexander is already confident he won, so he sees Ivan not as an enemy anymore, but degrades him to a servant so he can keep going on.

[@Catlikedrake]

It's about a story of Alexander giving his soldiers water they found and scooped up in a helmet instead of him drinking it when they were crossing a desert

[@vasconcelos7356]

I didn't really understand why he found it weird. I like it.

[@joshualajoie9547]

I love a wordplay line that gets overlooked by most reactors: "I brought 'foes' to their 'knees' in Phoenicia (foe-knee-shuh)"

[@MKDumas1981]

Caught it on the first listen, but, yes, people don't catch the "internal rhyme scheme"/wordplay of that line. Sherwin is notorious for those. It's no surprise he wrote for around half the ERBs.

[@bitfrost3610]

Correct

[@ravenzyblack]

Zach Sherwin is a genius. He played Alexander.

[@GriseWeisshark]

Someone above also said this: _"Here's the best part: in Russian, "-evich" can act as a diminutive, sort of like how you would address a child. "Tsar 8 bitch" is word play on "tsarevich", which was the term used to refer to the eldest son of the Tsar. She's literally telling him to sit down and shut up because the grownups are talking."_

[@sheltonalberty6501]

Same nobody catches it

[@markmoreno8603]

The one part that everyone seems to miss is the part when Frederick says "I'd pay a guy to tear out my eyes" hes talking about the architect that built Pokrovsky cathedral. Upon the completion of the cathedral Ivan the terrible had the architect's eyes ripped out so he could not remake the cathedral for anyone else. Plus Vasilyevich was Ivan's sur name mean son of Vasile.

[@Paintball013]

"I'm a MD boy, we know our Baltimore poets" then you'll enjoy Steven King vs Edgar Allan Poe.

[@mrb5132]

That's a good one indeed...

[@a.humanbeing8171]

Both gore addicted alcoholics. Poe predated AA, unfortunately.

[@alexjimenez1260]

Poe definitely hit harder imo, stephen king was too reference heavy for me.

[@LCBombat]

Yes. One of my favorites

[@woytank2843]

This, that's what I'm saying

[@David-zn2hx]

I believe the acting choice for Alexander was to emphasize just how young he was when he conquered half the known world.

[@mmm7528]

I think you've got Frederick the Great mixed up with Peter the Great at some spots. Prussia did not have a cultural connection with Russia and was always part of what you would consider Europe. Peter the Great was the one who wanted to make Russia more European, but that has nothing to do with Frederick the Great and Prussia. The similar sounding names are just a coincidence of language,in German they sound nowhere near familiar.

[@reluctantangel80]

I think that Frederick the Great was a supporter and ally of Catherine, if I remember my history right. Her husband, the actual Tsar, was obsessed with German/Prussian culture and that was how Catherine wound up running everything, because he didn't want to bother with Russia.

[@mmm7528]

@@reluctantangel80 Frederick the Great fought against Russia under Empress Elizabeth during the 7 years war but she had no son. The next heir to the Russian throne (and later Catherine's husband) was a German and a great fan of Frederick which is why he ended the war with Prussia upon becoming Tsar. And later Catherine had some things to do with Frederick, like carving up Poland, but they weren't on the best terms. Plus you have to consider that Frederick was already King before Catherine's husband even became Tsar, so Frederick was already in his later years compared to her.

[@reluctantangel80]

@@mmm7528 Aah okay, that makes sense. World History was 20 years ago and I probably misremembered stuff.

[@thatonedude9431]

Nerds

[@GoDLiKeKakashi]

Not so much a coincidence of language but a name derived from the people who inhabited Prussia before the arrival of the Teutonic Knights, you know Prussians.

[@dmillz5501]

Zack sherwin (the voice of alexander) is well known for his lyricism and wordplay. His bars aren't the hardest hitting but his performance is always top tier.

[@hez859]

His bars are wild though lol

[@Fugitive685]

Bro his bars were so strong I had to hide in the diamond dimension

[@mastermind-2011]

His bars are stronger than the bars used to hold up the building of my house

[@MrMartinSchou]

The last line "Empress to Tsar 8, bitch" is not about changing a pawn into a queen, it's a Russian take on the standard English refences "Queen to King 8". This would put the white queen on the field that was originally occupied by the black king, and declaring a check mate. It is ALSO a history reference, because she came to power after overthrowing her husband (the Tsar in Tsar 8).

[@Quickshot0]

To bad it doesn't also refer to the pawn thing then, because I believe she was sent to Russia from Prussia to marry the Tsar by among others Frederick the Great. Basically being their pawn in changing the political situation in Russia.

[@Cramblit]

@@Quickshot0 I'm pretty sure its a double reference to both.

[@AVoiceForRadio]

And it references how Ivan died during a game of chess, just like how all his opponents in this battle were killed in historically accurate ways.

[@Docktavion]

Didn’t she also empower the Queen piece in chess changing how the piece moved?

[@toddlynch7282]

This whole battle is a chess metaphor. Alexander is a pawn. Reference “straight forward” line, like how a pawn moves. And very much no nonsense, just keeps moving forward in all his battles. Frederick is a bishop. Oblique tactics, as a bishop moves. Then Katherine being the obvious queen reference.

[@thegrayshaws]

Damn, I never caught that "I win, Ivan, I vanquish" line and how it is similar to veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered). Brilliant!

[@dallia1]

Basically every ERB with Zach Sherwin has insane writing

[@RichardRenes]

Zach was part of the writing team for years. Not sure if he still is (he hasn't appeared in ERB's for years now)

[@scottjameson5358]

@@RichardRenes I remembered he was in the behind the scenes of Harry Potter Vs Luke Skywalker. I think he was the one who made that magical janitor line.

[@Just0wnedEsport]

on god

[@scottjameson5358]

@Julio Cesar Ah, I see. It's been a while since I've seen the BTS. Thanks.

[@scottjameson5358]

@Julio Cesar That's true.

[@foxfax2]

The Rome: Total War game had the Alexander Expansion Pack, which included all those areas he mentioned to fight over.

[@don4key935]

The chorus is singing "old Fritz" because by us in germany he was called "Der alte Fritz". Btw great reaction again hope to see oppenheimer vs thanos soon :D

[@maximilianhacker889]

I always understood "ahlquist“, which i thought was a reference to lloyds name, because Lloyd is playing Frederick. Damn maybe erb were putting more thought into this than most people could understand ^^

[@MKDumas1981]

@@maximilianhacker889: As meta as they often get (..."mix of EpicLLOYD and a Pringles packet", or, "Let's face it: I'm Nice Peter, and you're EpicLLOYD!"), I think that would be a little TOO meta, even for them.

[@auryn360]

When Alexander is rapping about his enemies praying for the torture to stop, it cuts briefly to Ivan, and he's pouring the poison into the goblet. Its a blink and you'll miss it shot though. :) Wonderful video. Thank you for making it

[@6666Imperator]

"Old Fritz" was the nickname in Germany for Frederick the Great :D As a german I always liked how he defended german territory against 3 big countries (France, Austria and Russia) with much less ressources at his hands basically running from one end of the country to the other to meet the enemy forces.

[@kevinwarburton2938]

Small, but well trained, well armed, fought like a Guerilla force practised Sun Tzu be where the enemy expects you not, hit enemy from rear and flanks.

[@HopeAnchors7]

"Come for the bar breakdown, stay for the history lesson." Gonna have to be Knox's new slogan when he does ERB breakdowns lol.

[@jpcsdutra]

This one is probably my favorite ERB, and I give it to Alexander. Not only his flow is absurd, it's also a very hard one; on top of that, he has a couple breath-in breaks where he could've stopped, but he never did stop conquering so he didn't stop rapping either, he just kept going until he was stopped and as a result his flow is also the longest out of all the participants. I have a question for you, Knox: When ERB gets back to a normal schedule and start posting again, would you like to a guest? If so, which historical figure would you like to play?

[@trueab1]

Thats such good observation of a character implementation, cool

[@oussamaokbi]

Zach Sherwin is absolutely great!

[@Merennulli]

"Oblique attack" is also a specific battle formation where, instead of matching your infantry columns to counter your opponent, you mass one large infantry column with smaller infantry columns to slow the enemy line while the massed infantry flanks and destroys the enemy infantry with overwhelming numbers against each column in turn. It was an old Greek tactic for getting around the problem of phalanx vs phalanx battles drifting as columns tried to move to position their right sword arms against the enemy to avoid exposing their weaker left shield arms. Cavalry made the tactic obsolete, but circumstances of infantry units in Fredrick's time made it useful at first (it was quickly adapted to, but it gained Fredrick key victories). Pompey the Great was decapitated (hence the misuse of garrote wire, it's a strangulation weapon - though do note the shape of them and Catherine's proclivities). Allegedly he was assassinated before he could give a speech, which is why he died before getting to really speak here. Catherine referenced Peter the Great (another Russian Tsar, whose expansion of Russia she continued), not Fredrick the Great (the Prussian from the rap battle). Like Pompey, this was another quick "the Great" injection to fit the theme, but Catherine admired Peter the Great's work in modernizing Russia and just as she said in this, saw herself as continuing it. I apologize if this comes across as nitpicking. I respect you having and sharing all the historical knowledge you're weighing in with and thought I would share the more prominent parts I noticed got missed.

[@nas1197-i6j]

That's cool

[@Someone-pb8wj]

you should try: Rasputin vs Stalin, Che vs Guy, Romeo and juliet vs bonnie and clyde these are pretty good (btw im biased because these are one of my favourites)

[@kriops]

+1 Romeo and Juliet vs. Bonnie and Clyde. The best ERB!

[@DiamondKittyCat]

@@kriops romeo and juliet vs bonnie and clyde

[@carlsimons6616]

Juliet bodied EVERYONE, in that one!!

[@jasongarfitt1147]

@@carlsimons6616 Juliet is a savage!

[@ghosthood2931]

These are some of the hardest matches this guy just suggested

[@myeyesarespiders]

The guy who played Alexander is Zach Sherwin, he was also Voltaire in the Philosophy battle. The guy has some crazy flows and rhyme schemes. He's a great writer

[@patyfire2024]

You knocked it out of the park once again! You'd love Rasputin vs Stalin! oh also Stephen King vs Edgar Allen Poe 🔥

[@luckydiamond77]

These are the 2 best battles for knox

[@Starsaber222]

I'd put Dracula vs Vlad the Impaler on the list of ones along the lines of this one too.

[@patyfire2024]

@@Starsaber222 OMG you're right! I totally zoned out on that one, that's a clean bodybag though, love that one

[@marcusc9931]

They examined the body of Ivan's wife, and it turned out she really had been poisoned - so his paranoia wasn't unfounded after all.

[@alexeylukyanov3361]

Similar for his mother. Later investigations revealed some arsenic content in bones and hair. May be due to medieval consmetis but the poisoning was quite possible

[@jarrodpierce7766]

I think you’d enjoy Jack the Ripper vs Hannible Lector

[@minionman95]

I’ve listened to that one numerous times lately it might be one of my new favorites.

[@jarrodpierce7766]

@@minionman95 👍

[@catalinfabian3764]

Omg yesss

[@LSDbigP]

One of my favourite battles... I love Dan Bull as Jack the Ripper. As a Brit I appreciated the 7/7 bombers line.

[@minionman95]

@@LSDbigP I think they both did good but the flow as Doctor Lector was unbelievable.

[@mordirit8727]

You got all the death jokes, but Pompey was a little missed on you, even though you got the broad strokes right. Pompey was killed in Alexandria... When he got off his boat as he fled from Caesar. He stepped out of the boat, looked at the people who were sent to "welcome" him, and tried to start a speech; but then they cut his fkn head off xD So yeah, everyone died the way they did in history, including Pompey: decapitated just as he tried to start saying something.

[@alexanderhall9625]

All I gotta say is Alexander has still never lost a battle

[@DrLipkin]

Ironically, Ivan was the one cutting the Gordian knot in this battle. Most straight forward way to defeat someone in a rap battle? Murder them so they can't finish the rap.

[@genericdolphin9242]

@@DrLipkin your not wrong

[@shinigamiryuk864]

He did lost some battles

[@johnirby8847]

@@shinigamiryuk864 no he didn't. He didn't lose in India. I know what you are going to say before you say it

[@shinigamiryuk864]

@@johnirby8847 how?

[@SkrappyQ]

A recurring theme through the theories surrounding Alexanders death is that prior to his death he was in "severe abdominal pain, causing him to cry out in agony". Incredible detail if it was intentional by the guys at ERB.

[@harz632]

The chant is "Old Fritz" Prussia was controlled by the Polish back when they were the Teutonic Order, but Germans and Russians have a lot of history, most of the Russian Tsars were German. Seven Years War the Prussians with some help of the English fought against Russia, Austria-Hungary, Spain, Sweden, Mughals and France.

[@TheKaryo]

Had no idea the mughals where involved in the 7 years war

[@lukasspindeldreher7743]

@@TheKaryo yes they were but the phrasing of OP's comment is a little bit confusing: Prussia didn't fight in India, the British Empire (their allies) did, they also fought France in North America and helped the Prussians in Europa fighting around their German holdings in Hannover

[@Elkayra8]

Cathy won, no questions asked! Not only becasue she's my childhood crush, she really crushed it! Really looking down on Ivan and keep her cool trough it all! Glorious my dear empress!

[@matthew3139]

Marylin Monroe vs Cleopatra Truss the disses are heavy

[@JCGver]

That one is straight up vicious.

[@mnkybl8]

This!!

[@nightwingaven69]

THe miss carriage bar ended it. There were no disses in that battle...there was 2 bitches bickering and Cleo droppin the boom

[@DerMoerpler]

@@nightwingaven69 Easily one of the most disrespectful bars in the entirety of ERB, and I mean that as a compliment. Up there with Eastwoods and Gokus final bars.

[@RobGcraft]

The bars are super brutal and it’s wild

[@demonwolf5671]

Man, you are the first Rapper who reacted to this video that I have found that actually agrees that Ivan didn't win this battle just for battling 4 different opponents. Also, love how you use your knowledge in history to explain this battle and how it makes the bars so much better which I find very cool.

[@cond.oriano4945]

You’re the only one who legit goes in depth with the lines unlike other reactors even the history teachers don’t even know as many references as you do

[@1nf3ct3dTT]

yes! he knows more than all the history teachers as well which is kinda strange tbh

[@novascape128]

He knows a lot in general but I think he mentioned he does a lil reading b4 going in the reactions to refresh his memory

[@scsports7281]

@@novascape128 yea that really helps. But to really understand these videos and to understand references u do need historical knowledge. However I found watching people like “vlogging through history” review on this vid more enjoyable to watch as he didn’t review the video beforehand

[@novascape128]

@@scsports7281 I don't think Knox watches videos b4 reacting, as I said, he does reading on the topic b4 hand, but his reaction is still first off😅 Ofc he has general historical knowledge, he "refreshes" his mind on certain topics, but in general, he is still really great knowledge on history and other topics. Remember he's not like other ppl whose lane is only history 😂 he's also a rapper

[@scsports7281]

@@novascape128 oh I thought he did watch it beforehand I must have been fed false info from someone in the comment section sorry about that!

[@Disgracelandszero]

"why don't you stop dead fred" Drop Dead Fred being an amusing movie from the 90s staring Pheobe Cates and the late Great Rik Mayall.

[@MKDumas1981]

He missed that completely. I'm over here, like, "F**kin' millennial!"

[@TheLibermania]

17:50 "Old Fritz" (Der alte Fritz) was Fredericks nickname in the german nations because he got so old and Fritz is just a short form of Friedrich.

[@bojan8978]

Dude, i just noticed something. "I brought the foes to their knees in Phoenicia" Foes, knees, phoe-ni-cia _THE WORDPLAY_

[@ravenzyblack]

That’s Zach Sherwin...Alexander. He is a genius with wordplay.

[@bojan8978]

@@ravenzyblack Indeed, he is.

[@ellaser93]

The ERB vids that feature Zach Sherwin (Alexander the Great) always tend to be a favorite of mine. His flow is always just so diabolical and infectious!

[@thefandom6243]

I love how historically referenced just the deaths are Alexander died of unknown causes but was believed to be poisoned and his last words were along the lines of ~my stomach is full of holes~ Frederick died peacefully in his favorite chair but a myth was spread around that he was executed either hanged or decapitated Pompey died of an assassination on his way to a speaking event

[@gameplaystudent]

The tsar lineup is a reference to another rap battle, that had a ton of famous tsars

[@ald7282]

Fun story about Alexander the Great: His lover, Hephaestion, died in battle and Alexander had a complete meltdown, crucified Hephaestion's doctors for not saving him, chopped all of his hair off to emulate Patroculus (Achilles' lover), tried to have Hephaestion declared a god, and threw him a billion dollar funeral.

[@johnirby8847]

Lol yeah it's crazy

[@gameplaystudent]

The expansion pack is also reference to a strategy game, where he was an expansion that added all those nations to the game.

[@Orion_44]

Rome: Total War I believe

[@QuigleTheGnome]

IS THAT A CK:2 reference

[@TeamAquaLeaderArchy]

Sid meiers civilization

[@lestranger7440]

HOI moment,Civilization moment,Total War moment

[@shadowproductions969]

Catherine the great definitely had some Destiny's Child inspiration in her delivery. Her swagger was great too.. Alexendar had the best flow of almost any battle in the series though.

[@SomethingScotty]

A common theme in ERB's rap battles is they try sneaking in cocaine jokes into every episode. It's kind of become a mini-game to try and spot all the cocaine references.

[@EzioHanitore]

really? i never noticed that

[@Paintball013]

Only in the early seasons tho, they don't do it anymore (sad face)

[@Simarino54]

@@Paintball013 And that was heroin, not cocaine

[@shashank3589]

@@Paintball013 They did in joker vs Pennywise

[@davidmernick7360]

@@Simarino54 No, heroin was referenced in the Behind the Scenes videos, not the main ones.

[@heathenllama7886]

This was amazing. one of the best reactions I've ever seen. Incredibly detailed, intelligent, and well-informed. Loved every second. BUT, BRO!! PLEASE react to STALIN VS. RASPUTIN. It's one of the BEST, most EPIC, most MEMORABLE, and most IMPRESSIVE rap battles that ERB has ever done in their entire time as a channel on youtube.

[@DemonZangetsu23]

Hey Fella, Swell Diss verse is hands down the best of this song Stephen king vs Edgar Allan Poe next

[@Insaneian]

Zach Sherwin (Alexander) is awesome. He cowrites a lot of the battles for ERb with Nice Peter and Epic Lloyd.

[@mnkybl8]

This!!!!

[@MKDumas1981]

This was the first ERB I ever watched, and the "Panhellenist from Pella Hella pissed" line floored me.

[@korofi3]

This guy understands more of the historical aspect than most of the actual historians I've seen reacting to ERB.

[@DigiDuncan]

You are without a doubt one of my favorite reactors of all time. Not only are you yourself a dope rapper (so you get all the idiosyncrasies of making a fire song,) but you pull all this crazy history knowledge out of nowhere and it's impressive every time. I hope ERB hits you up some day man, you deserve it for this.

[@fakirpoo]

Knox dissected this rap battle quite thoroughly and between that and the comments section, I've picked up quite a few things I didn't get previously from watching this. The only thing I haven't seen anyone get is the Jethro Tull reference at the start of Frederick the Great's entrance. It's the way Lloyd is standing when the title card is on the screen.

[@AstroNotpg]

The French term "crème de la crème", derived from a name for the cream at the top of fresh milk, means best of the best. Ivan refers to himself as the best from the Kremlin, a Russian citadel which housed him and the successive leaders of Russia.

[@joshbrelly1]

It’s a continuous relief to hear you make the correct connections to historical mentions in the lyrics of these videos. Kudos man.

[@LukaBlight69]

"Kill cities and sack people" He was a well known teabagger :P

[@MKDumas1981]

"I will Mr. T-bag you in the closest cemetery!"

[@darrensanderson1031]

Okay, this was amazing. A lot of the ERB reacts channels are pretty wishy washy, but the combo of technical/lyrics critique, history knowledge, and complete unfiltered reactions, love it dude :)

[@Shane-te6ih]

"I'd pay a guy to tear out my eyes" I think you missed this It was once rumored, but ultimately proven untrue, that after St. Basil's Cathedral was built, Ivan gouged out the eyes of the architects responsible so that they would never be able to create a building that matched the cathedral's beauty.

[@VintageFenrir]

Small note, the area depicted around Ivan the Terrible is the Red Square, with "from here to Red Square" additionally notes Ivan's specific background. And Pompey the Great wasn't just assassinated, he was assassinated on his way to a speech, and here he was assassinated as he was setting up to rap battle.

[@cannotwaittoseedavanteadam4301]

She said Peter the Great, he wasn’t in this battle. That was Frederick the Great.

[@Arthad]

you got the best bar breakdowns mate, literally finding multiple meanings that make sense in every single one of them

[@xheralt]

"Vasilyevitch" is the children's form of "Vasily", Ivan's actual given name; Alexander was talking down to Ivan. Serious disrespect, in Russian terms.

[@Steir12]

Nah, you are incorrect. Ending "vitch" means basiaclly "Son of" and great prince Vasily III was his farther. Such unortodox appeal suggests that he is less important historical figure than his farther or that he is being in his father's shadow or something among those lines.

[@MKDumas1981]

Vasilyevitch is Ivan's legal middle name. That being said, "-vitch" sounds like "bitch". Basically, Alex called Ivan a "Vasilyebitch".

[@Skadi609]

@@Steir12 A way to diminish Ivan's own achievements? Oh, that makes sense☝️😮

[@ImJustBob]

This comment is so false, how did it get 145 likes...

[@SilverSharpiee]

I really be wanting Jack the Ripper vs. Hannibal, it's my favourite beat without a doubt

[@aaronconway4435]

That guitar throughout is so iconic for me

[@clintcook8691]

Also fun history fact. "The Saddle" was a torture machine where someone would get weights chained to their ankles and would be sat on a saddle made of wood that was more of a peak like a triangle so when they sat on it, it'd slowly split them in half.

[@geniusapple6471]

Oh my god, you catch those bars insanely! Props to you.

[@FMJaqenHghar]

@Knox Hill oh wow ! right now a man's enjoying the human-made hell outa your reactions! a man saw maaany ERB-reaction-videos to countless rap-battles - But never have i ever .. seen someone professional rapping AND being a scholar of historical events in the same videos!

[@FMJaqenHghar]

!subscribed - of course.

[@KnoxHill]

A man welcomes another man to the greatest team of men formed in this realm 🙌

[@Xyn115]

This isn't exactly rap but it's very entertaining. 'History of the entire world I guess' by Bill Wurts? It's a pretty long vid but I swear you will like it :)

[@amiroolbahri7061]

yeah he'll like it but he wont make a vide out of it. the video itself is 20mins + while knox keep pausing.. sooo yeah 😂

[@Orodread]

Totally agree, this is probably the best rap video I've ever watched. The rhymes are crazy on this

[@franklinhoesevelt]

I've been searching reaction videos to see if someone acknowledged the "try to serve Ivan, no survivin" line. Such overlooked wordplay. One of my favorites from the series.

[@fabianglathe6131]

but Frederick the Great is NOT Tsar Peter the first XD

[@dr.little7311]

It’s so cool to see someone react to this who not only knows rap well but history too. So many people miss so many bars but this is such a good reaction.

[@novascape128]

This video is 34 mins long how are y'all already commenting about it😭😂💀

[@DiamondKittyCat]

Because we can comment on it as soon as it's up 😜

[@jacewelborn8085]

The fact that Pompey was in this battle just so Catherine could have a rhyme for "opponents"

[@nurlindafsihotang49]

And from historical death of the 2nd triumpvirate😂

[@zevric7524]

W in Russia is usually pronounced as a V due to their accent when speaking English so it's really "I win (vin) Ivan I vanquish" Adds a whole extra layer to it

[@lewycraft]

Well, you've made a bit of a mistake talking about Frederick. Prussia was a state that came to be after Reformation and secularisation of Teutonic Order as a Polish vassal state. In times of Frederick II The Great, he turned Prussian Kingdom, also known as Brandenburg-Prussia, as it was originally personal union between both, into the strongest state in Holy Roman Empire, as Germany wasn't existing state until late XIX century, when Prussia united German states into one empire.

[@codycross172]

Knox, I want to see you do a reaction and Breakdown with your opinion to some of Sabaton's Stuff. I know its not rap, but with the Historical themes in their music, and your love of history I think it would be a FANTASTIC new reaction series for the channel! LETS GO!!! Keep the vids coming, love them!

[@teamcybr8375]

Oh shit that's a great idea!

[@connorperry4352]

Real talk its refreshing to see someone not only talk about the bars but also give some educational lessons to teach people why these bars actually hit as hard as they do. Being a history buff I enjoy these videos

[@davidfrance2915]

34 minutes long. New Knox Hill or new WandaVision? You already know it's Knox Hill ERB time!

[@jameskarg3240]

The "Alaska Settlement" could be about russias settling there, but also: The American purchase of Alaska was ALSO called "The Alaska Settlement" But Im fairly certain that came loooong after Cats rule ended

[@jeracaruna9]

It blows my mind that I've not seen a single recommendation for Caesar Vs. Shaka yet.

[@kfizz21]

I know you’re a rapper, but have you ever considered a career as a history professor? My mom is a history professor as well as high school teacher and I’m a history buff. And your history knowledge in this made me grin to no end. Fantastic analogies. I’ve watched your rap breakdowns for years but I never imagined you’d have this kind of expansive knowledge and I’m thoroughly impressed.

[@LMAOOOOOO]

That's what I was thinking like how does this guy seem to know every little detail about everything lol

[@milesmiller3875]

I was waiting for this one! Knox da King! Also just listened to Chaos Theory and it's 🔥💥🔥

[@Crytica.]

When Pompey got assassinated in Ptolemaic Egypt he also got his head severed to show it as proof to Caesar, which was also the way he went down in this video.

[@bmak111]

Please do Edgar Allen Poe vs Stephen King. Since you’re a Maryland Boy, you’re gonna love it

[@ryanhudson5519]

31:12 The queen is right across the board so this bar means she moved forward 8 spaces and checkmated the king

[@yourlocalheathen8419]

Alexander did not completely unified Greece. He did not go after the Spartans

[@wolfheardt4169]

They weren’t worth it after all

[@cratwinterz200]

Wasn’t it actually Philip who unified most of Greece? It was definitely him that decided not to go after Sparta.

[@PedroAce]

@@cratwinterz200 I can't find the exact quote, but Alexander the Great was quoted saying something along the lines of. *to invade Sparta is to throw my armies into the sea. The loss of life and value gained would be equal*

[@6666Imperator]

no one in their right mind goes after the spartans during the height of the greek states :D

[@aaronconway4435]

@@cratwinterz200 Philip wrote to Sparta telling them his intentions, and asked if Sparta wanted him to visit as a Friend or Foe. Sparta simply replied "Neither." Philip was so enraged he sent back "If I bring my army to your land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people and raze your city." The spartan reply was both brief and badass, "If."

[@PigeonNight]

I interviewed people who have played Russian roulette and the win rate is apparently 100%

[@oskioskioski]

Knox you would love Civilization by Dan Bull. Lots of history references in there.

[@epsi9923]

Absolutely agree. These ERB's mess him up but I could see him spending near an hour on the Civilisation Rap.

[@seanspiering1926]

The Civilization rap is amazing!!! I really hope that Knox gets around to it! Dan Bull has one of the best pens I have ever witnessed.

[@brett8259]

I really like how you know so much about the raps you're reacting to and seem to catch almost every diss, even the ones that even I didn't notice

[@whocaresreallly5886]

I just realized the Wizard of Oz refence could also be because in the past a code for gay in the military was "a friend of Dorothy" from the Wizard of Oz

[@sdantaray2]

I just realised how Frederick the Great’s introduction resembles the introduction of Christmas future in a Christmas Carol

[@leonixnn]

"And don't ever try Russian Roulette" Thanks for the advice 🤣

[@zhiyuansun8827]

My guy literally caught EVERY bar! You continue to surprise me! Can't wait for the next ERB!

[@joshsmith8715]

Gotta request Steven Spielberg vs Alfred Hitchcock. Very entertaining battle with some movie references

[@jamesestelle7260]

Maybe he will finally learn where Alfred's theme came from. He literally had no idea where the beat for Ems song came from

[@JustCobaltVA]

Absolutely love Knox's pauses and just whispers to himself, it's gold

[@ilyaterk110]

My man I love your breakdowns and history knowledge, but you do be confusing Peter the Great and Frederick the Great. First was Russian, the second one was Prussian. And the one who brought Russia to Europe was Peter. Love the videos!

[@techpriestemily]

I'm honestly impressed. First vid of yours I watched, did not expect the small history lesson. Respect.

[@KuroTheDesigner]

why doesnt anyone ever, even for music reviews, just listen to the whole damn thing in one take first and THEN break it down bar by bar, you're literally cutting the flow of each bar part way and ruining the first viewing experience for yourself. Like imagine if you listened to Alexander's verse in one fluid take. At this point i've seen so many people do this that im just curious cuz im clearly the one in the dark here.

[@AimForMyHead81]

I'm really impressed by your historical knowledge and commentary, well done