EpicLLOYD

Last updated

Lloyd Ahlquist
Epic Lloyd-1.jpg
Ahlquist in 2014
Background information
Birth nameLloyd Leonard Ahlquist
Also known asEpicLLOYD
Born (1977-01-18) January 18, 1977 (age 47)
Staten Island, New York, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Internet personality
  • comedian
  • singer
  • rapper
  • songwriter
  • producer
Years active1999–present
Spouse
Josie Hutchinson
(m. 2009)
Website erbofhistory.com

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 .

Contents

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

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 view. [22]

Personal life

Ahlquist grew up in Exeter, New Hampshire, and graduated from Exeter High School. [23] [24] He married Josie Hutchinson, a student affairs educator, on 18 October 2009 in Malibu. [25] They live in Los Angeles. [26] [27]

Discography

Albums

Songs

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2010–present Epic Rap Battles of History various rolesweb series
2011X-Men: First Class RejectsProf. Doug Xavierweb short
2011 The League Dr. Andre NodickSeason 3, Episode 1, "The Lockout"
2012Ninja - Part 2Sam Macaroni web video [28]
2012Epic Rap Battle of ManlinessJogger Rhett and Link web video [29]
2013 Key & Peele Rap Battle HostEpisode #3.1
2014 The Most Popular Girls in School Darren DarabondEpisodes 50–52
2015 The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water Surfer Dude, Seagull
2016 Crossroads of History [30] LLOYDweb series
2016 Dirty 30 Homeless Man
2021The Mystic CrystalKnight #1 Ninja Sex Party web video [31]

Awards and nominations

YearAward ShowCategoryResultRecipient(s)
2013 3rd Streamy Awards Best Writing: ComedyNominatedPeter Shukoff, Lloyd Ahlquist
Best Original SongWon-

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smosh</span> American YouTube comedy channel

Smosh is an American YouTube sketch comedy-improv collective, independent production company, and former social networking site founded by Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox. In 2002, Padilla created a website named "smosh.com" for making Flash animations, and he was later joined by Hecox. They began to post videos on Smosh's YouTube channel in the fall of 2005 and quickly became one of the most popular channels on the site. The Smosh channel has over 10 billion views and over 26 million subscribers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iman Crosson</span> American actor and comedian

Iman Crosson, better known by his stage name Alphacat, is an American actor, impressionist, and YouTube personality known for his impersonations of former U.S. President Barack Obama and his starring role in independent film Along the Roadside.

Raymond "Ray" William Johnson is an American internet celebrity best known for his eponymous YouTube channel and his web series on that channel, Equals Three. In 2013, the channel surpassed 10 million subscribers and had over 2 billion views, making it one of the most watched and subscribed to channels at the time. And for a 564 day period from June 2011 to January 2013 the channel was the most-subscribed YouTube channel. During which it also became the first channel to reach 5 million subscribers. Johnson left the series in March 2014 but continued to produce it and other web series like Booze Lightyear, Comedians On, and Top 6, the first two of which were later cancelled.

<i>DeStorm Power</i> American Internet celebrity

DeStorm Power is an American Internet personality, actor and rapper who began his career on YouTube.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nice Peter</span> American musician and YouTuber

Peter Alexis Shukoff, best known as his stage name Nice Peter or Bluesocks, is an American musician, rapper and Internet personality. A self-described "Comic/Guitar Hero", he is best known for the comedy on his YouTube channel, Nice Peter, and especially for the comedic series Epic Rap Battles of History which he co-created with Lloyd "EpicLLOYD" Ahlquist. As of June 8, 2016, NicePeter has over 2.6 million YouTube subscribers. The day after hitting one million subscribers, the video game channel G4 crowned Nice Peter the King of Dot Comedy on Attack of the Show. His two channels, Nice Peter and ERB, have a total of over 17 million subscribers and 4 billion views as of February 2019. He also has a third channel that he uses for vlogs and "Monday Shows", a show that he uploads on either Mondays or Tuesdays consisting of different segments including "Viewer Mail", "Twitter Question Time", and "Ask a Giraffe". They have been featured on the Huffington Post, Billboard.com, Forbes and the January 2012 issue of Wired.

<i>Epic Rap Battles of History</i> YouTube video series

Epic Rap Battles of History (ERB) is a YouTube web series and music project created by Peter "Nice Peter" Shukoff and Lloyd "EpicLLOYD" Ahlquist. The series pits historical and pop culture figures against one another in a rap battle format. The characters portrayed are often determined by suggestions from viewers in the comments sections of the channel's videos. Shukoff and Ahlquist write each song themselves, researching the subject in order to find obscure details to use as references in the lyrics, although guest stars featured in the battles as well as certain Patreon subscribers have also contributed to the writing process. Following an extended hiatus, the channel returned with a bonus battle in December 2018, and the sixth season debuted on April 20, 2019. As of February 23, 2023, the channel has 14.9 million subscribers and approximately 4 billion total video views.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Newton</span> American comedian and YouTuber

Ashley Rose Newton, known professionally as Lee Newton, is an American actress, comedian and Web personality. She is a former co-host of the YouTube news channel SourceFed, as well as a regular performer of The Gym Comedy group. Newton studied theatre in college, and is an alumna of The Groundlings Sunday Company. Newton was a founding member of the production company and web-series known as The Valleyfolk, in which she was a co-host alongside fellow former SourceFed hosts Joe Bereta, Elliott Morgan, and Steve Zaragoza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disney Digital Network</span> American worldwide multi-channel network

Disney Digital Network was an American multi-channel network located in Culver City, California. It was originally the successor to Maker Studios, co-founded by Lisa Donovan, Danny Zappin, Scott Katz, Kassem Gharaibeh, Shay Carl, Rawn Erickson II, Ben Donovan, Philip DeFranco, Glasgow Phillips, Michael Gallagher, Matthew Clawson, and Paul Ballon in 2009. Maker Studios was originally conceived as an incubator for YouTube talent through the use of Super Channels like The Station. Maker Studios adopted the multi-channel network (MCN) model after the initial model failed to take root. Maker Studios was acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2014 for $500 million, and was absorbed into the newly formed Disney Digital Network in 2017.

The YouTube Original Channel Initiative was a $100 million program funded by Google in 2012 to bring original content onto YouTube. The original channel initiative was also meant to kick start Google TV. The channels are collectively known as "original", "premium" or "YouTube funded" channels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney (video)</span> 2012 single by Epic Rap Battles of History

"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 U.S. presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toby Turner</span> American internet personality and actor (born 1985)

Toby Turner, also known by his stage name Tobuscus, is an American Internet personality and actor. Originally from Niceville, Florida, he is best known for his YouTube videos. As of November 2021, Turner has a total of over 14.33 million subscribers and over 3.867 billion video views over his three YouTube channels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elliott Morgan</span> America comedian, actor and writer (born 1987)

Elliott Christopher Morgan is an American comedian, actor, writer, host, producer and YouTube personality. Morgan is best known for being a co-host of the YouTube channel SourceFed. Morgan attended the University of Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mamrie Hart</span> American comedian, actress, writer, and performer

Mamrie Lillian Hart is an American comedian, actress, writer, and performer. She gained popularity in 2011 through her YouTube show You Deserve A Drink, for which she has won two Streamy Awards: in 2014 for Actress in a Comedy and in 2015 for Writing. Hart currently hosts Food Network's Tiny Food Fight on Discovery+ alongside Darnell Ferguson. As of October 2021, she has over 1 million YouTube subscribers and her main channel has over 97 million views. She also co-wrote, co-produced, and co-starred in the 2014 film Camp Takota and the 2016 film Dirty 30.

<i>M.I.s Westside Comedy Theater</i>

M.I.'s Westside Comedy Theater is a comedy club, theater, bar, and comedy training center located in Santa Monica, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arin Hanson</span> American YouTuber, actor, and animator (born 1987)

Arin Joseph Hanson, also known by the pseudonym Egoraptor, is an American YouTuber, actor, rapper, and animator. He is well known for his Flash cartoons, as well as being the co-founder and co-star of the popular YouTube Let's Play series Game Grumps.

PBS Digital Studios is a non-profit organization through which PBS distributes original educational web video content. Based in Arlington, Virginia, it comprises both original series and partnerships with existing YouTube channels. Most of the series are about science, popular culture, art, food, news, and music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YouTube (YouTube channel)</span> Official channel of YouTube

YouTube is the official YouTube channel for the American video-sharing platform YouTube, spotlighting videos and events on the platform. Events shown on the channel include YouTube Comedy Week and the YouTube Music Awards. Additionally, the channel uploaded annual installments of YouTube Rewind between 2010 and 2019. For two brief periods of 36 and 11 days in late 2013, this channel was ranked as the most-subscribed on the platform. As of March 2024, the channel has earned 39.8 million subscribers and 3.05 billion video views.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zach Sherwin</span> American screenwriter

Zach Sherwin is an American comedian, rapper, writer, and actor best known for writing for and performing in the Epic Rap Battles of History YouTube series, as well as writing for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on The CW. He specializes in comedic rap. He previously performed with The Late Night Players under the stage name MC Mr. Napkins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SourceFed Studios</span> American digital media company

SourceFed Studios was an American digital media company and multi-channel network created by Philip DeFranco in 2011. After finding success during the early years of YouTube with his eponymous news show, DeFranco secured funding from YouTube and launched SourceFed as part of the YouTube Original Channel Initiative in 2012.

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".[ permanent dead link ]
  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. 1 2 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. https://x.com/theepiclloyd/status/578858202474754050?s=46
  24. 1995 Exeter Area High School Yearbook. Exeter: Exeter High School. 1995. p. 21.
  25. "Hutchinson-Ahlquist". Casper Star-Tribune. August 2, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  26. "Josie Ahlquist".
  27. EpicLLOYD [@TheEpicLLOYD] (March 20, 2015). "@wilfroumy yep. Go blue Hawks" (Tweet). Retrieved December 25, 2022 via Twitter.
  28. Sam Macaroni. "Ninja - Part 2 with Epic Lloyd". SamMacaroni.com. Retrieved May 24, 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  29. EPIC RAP BATTLE of MANLINESS. Rhett & Link. September 12, 2012. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022 via YouTube.
  30. Crossroads of History. "Equal Rights for Women". YouTube. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  31. The Mystic Crystal - NSP. Ninja Sex Party. June 9, 2021. Archived from the original on December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022 via YouTube.