What else should we react to? 🤔 Comment below! Also if you like the song in the intro story the channel directly & download my new album ‘Blacklist’ now 🖤 www.knoxhillmusic.com
I'd love for you to react to the Harvey Sea Salt Rap Battles, especially the Football vs Fùtbol Rap Battle, since you seem to love sports (if I am not wrong you used to be a Footballer/Soccer player as well) and the Marvel vs DC Rap Battle. Other great ones include the PS5 vs XBOX SERIES 1 Rap Battle as well as the Cartoon Network vs Nickelodeon Rap Battle. I feel that you've reacted to many different ERB videos (I love them) and I would love for you to react to these ones, since they are similar in concept, except the Harvey Sea Salt Rap Battle are animated and not live action. I think you will love the bars on the videos I mentioned above.
One line I love is "The what the fuck does it mean to this guy" bar. A reference to "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" a book by Frederick Douglass
I like how he said “not to mention third President” because in real life Jefferson never really cared that he was President lol. It was always at like the bottom of his accomplishments and never really considered it that big of a deal.
To be honest, Jefferson was slightly ashamed of that fact. He never wanted the office of President to be as important as it is today. He wanted the power to be in the hands of the people: they vote for their representatives, who elect their state senators, who he wanted to elect the office of the president. Well, in the hands of RiCH YT people, at least.
@@ShantanuShinde1 I'm pretty sure he had a good enough reason for it. I believe he realized that it would be too much lost had he ignored the opportunity.
Its really funny how a lot of people thinks removing slavery in their time is something a president can do.. He will be dead before he can do anything if he tries to forcefully remove something already ingrained in society in a short amount of time.. he is president for only 8 years who is trying to remove a practice that is already hundreds years old, come on...
Really glad you caught the "Aw, FREDERICK, I've never heard a verse I DUG LESS" bar. You have no idea how many reactors I've seen completely MISS that one.
I know a lot of people hate this one for being a one topic battle, but I really like it. It makes it seem like they actually have a reason to be rapping/arguing.
It just feels like less a rap against each other/argument and more just punching down one guy. More a history lesson than a battle which in some cases for erb can work as there are battles that arent about the victor such as Scrooge vs Trump being kne if my favorites. I just dont like this one cause it starts so good with both first verses then Jefferson just gives up verse 2 and douglass continues the beat down. There are battles j like that are one sided but at least the other opponent didnt just give up to give the other guy the win
Something you missed! "I topple any tyrants, so kings and pirates beware" of course there's the classic "pirates beware" which references signs in unfriendly ports that warn pirates if they're caught they'll be put to death. But there's also a reference to Thomas Jeffersons presidency, where he fought and defeated the Barbary pirates that kept attacking American ships. Edit: changed from pirates to Barbary pirates. Thanks to ryan alving for reminding me of the name.
This ERB is one of the best imo, both in writing and delivery. Also it may sound weird for american people, but here in Europe we're taught very little about american history. So this ERB was the very first time i've heard of Fred Douglas, and i knew very little about Jefferson before. It's always best when Epic Rap Battle of History actually is about history.
@@BeautifulEarthJa I mean idk I learned about him way back in elementary school. Also why r u correcting them on what they learn about? Unless you’re European, I doubt you’d know
@@BeautifulEarthJa Tbh I'm half black and the only reason I know anything about FD was I saw his picture in a textbook that barely mentioned him and had to look into him (because he was straight muggin)
@@BeautifulEarthJa Another European here, and it generally applies to historical US-Americans as a whole. We pretty much only hear the very basics about the founding fathers, we maybe hear about Lincoln "being the president who freed the slaves" and that's pretty much it unless we're going into more specialized topics (hard to talk about the history of electricity without mentioning Edison, for example). Modern history is more detailed, especially here in Germany where WW1 and especially WW2 are a major part of history education here (to a fault, I'd dare say, because my school more-or-less skimmed over the Weimar Republic even though it's a historically-important background to understand how everything led towards WW2). Of course that's more whites than non-whites, but still, US history is a footnote at best in European education, so four or five people we are barely taught about is no competition.
@@BeautifulEarthJa i wouldn't say that we're taught little about non-whites. Ofc i've heard of Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King, but Douglass lived during the XIXe century, and in school, we barely talked about the american civil war for example.
That last verse wrecked TJ. "Alien to your unalienable rights", "We the People (who are white)", and "but what the fuck does it mean to this guy?" gets me every time. For me, that's the hardest hitting line of the whole thing. "Yay, 4th of July!" ... and? If you're not a male, white landowner, wtf difference does that make? Ironically, if the slave- and land-owning class hadn't decided they didn't want to pay taxes to the English crown any more, slavery in the US would have been abolished in 1807, 58 years earlier.
@@Brooke-rw8rc same for Texas. The white Texans rebelled largely because Mexico abolished slavery (also, the Mexican government invited gringos to settle in Texas on the assumption they would obey Mexican laws). They weren’t fighting for freedom from oppression. They were fighting for the freedom TO oppress. So of course Texas is at the forefront of denying the true history of this country
I disagree, because most of Freds lines were either incorrect or out of context. Yes TJ kept the slave he inherited, and never freed them; however it was against the law to free slaves in Virginia, a law he actively tried to change while he was governor. Also his line “all men are created equal” moved to the fore front of the movement and is the reason many northern states abolished slavery before 1800.
Btw the reason Thomas Jefferson couldnt free his slaves was because he was in a ton of debt and slaves being considered property could be seized at the time to pay for the debt he owed. Thomas Jefferson was whats known as land rich dollar poor. he owned a ton of land but bought it all with debt. So tbh he didn't really own slaves the people he was in debt to owned them.
He was broke for his expensive tastes, if he wanted he wouldn't have been broke and could have free slaves, but in that case he should have renounced to things (like expensive european wine)
Is anyone else also impressed that Knox actually says the intro and promotion stuff at the beginning of every video, rather than just film a video and play that in the beginning?
When Douglass says "you couldnt whip a 5th of me man" it could be a third meaning having to do with alcohol, since, as president, Jefferson imported over 20k bottles.
When ERB went to meet JB Smoove who played Frederick Douglass in this, he told THEM outright that he really wanted to be in an ERB video. They were there to ask him if he would! So. EVERYONE was happy that day lol
I feel this battle was diminished slightly with Douglass having done so much more in real life but hanging onto the slavery topic for almost every single bar. Then Jefferson went apologize mode for his round two and just kinda gave up the battle.
one thing people mentioned in comments of original video is its kind of in a politicians nature to give apologies/explain there fuck ups any way they can which is probably why his second verse was what it was they do tend to try to play more into the nature of the person or character with the lines so it makes sense
@@lordgainz5192 i don't know if it was really given to him, just that Frederick Douglass brought up things about Jefferson that he couldn't just dodge around. incidentally, this is very indicative of Douglass's style of writing and speech. he did not waste time, he got to the point and he explained it in a way that no one could miss it. in his first autobiography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he is at one point describing how horrific some of the physical injuries he got as a slave were. while describing cracks he developed in his dry and battered feet, he said they were deep enough he could have laid the quill he was writing with fully into them. no frills, just the truth - here is how bad it was.
Frederick Douglass is one of my all-time favorite authors. I was excited for the battle because I was waiting for them to talk about his experiences, instead they did about the most fair and accurate thing they could for him which was make it about the shared struggle of slavery and bondage of all Black men and women in the US. Even after the end of slavery Frederick Douglass argued for reparations and was a vocal part of reconstruction. The line about "Big Hair, Big Nuts, Big Issues", Big Nuts I think was more representative in the fact that he participated in the Underground Railroad and even knew John Brown prior to Harper's Ferry. Frederick Douglass was a trailblazer and did many of the things he sought out to do, brazenly, and without hesitation even though it often put him at risk. Also, he's famous for basically harassing Lincoln into making the Civil War about Slavery (something Lincoln did not want to do), only when it looked like England was going to join the war effort (on the side of the Confederacy) did Lincoln agree to but only so as to keep the English out of the conflict. Frederick Douglass didn't care that he was haranguing the President of the United States, nor did he care what had to happen for Lincoln to make the "Big Issue" (The Civil War) about Slavery.
Brought to you by ERB starring the battle between the 3rd President vs the Freed Slave turned Civil Rights Activist. Thomas Jefferson is played by NicePeter and Frederick Douglass is JB Smooth
The 4th of July line is a nice double as well, because, as Douglas said, Jefferson did die on the 4th of July. Douglas continues, "but WTF does it mean to this guy?" In 1862, Frederick Douglas gave a speech in Rochester, NY entitled, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"
The thing people over look with Jefferson and slavery, is how much of a powder keg the situation was at that point. Civil war was almost constantly on the verge of breaking out over that one subject, and men like him speaking out against it, was the crawling that was necessary, so others could later run with the cause.
14:33 That line’s a double entendre because before he died, he was alive long enough to use the first telephone which was invented by Alexander Gram Bell
I liked this rap battle. But it kinda felt like they paid Jefferson to take a dive in his second round. You never ask "We cool?" in a rap battle. You're just setting yourself up for the KO. When writing these things, it is important to be impartial to both sides.
Erb has proven a number of times they care about the entertainment factor more than an even balance. You're right, but thats never been their priority.
@@Thr3leven im not sure how entertaining it is to watch this it's a slaughter and not funny like clint Eastwood's its just backtracking and totally unfair, ignoring the backtracking literally 5/6 of the battle was totally Fredrick Douglas, it should have been called Fredrick Douglas vs some Thomas
@@theburningruler7279 Oh yes. Also seen Bruce Willis, Bruce Lee, and Bruce Wayne. Now they just need to do Bruce Springsteen, and that will be all of them!
More disturbing fact: sally hemmings was a teenager. Thomas Jefferson freed all his slaves( including his children by sally hemmings) except her. Her children later raised the money to buy her freedom.
I would strongly recommend Lewis and Clark vs Bill and Ted! It’s an insanely slept on battle with some great duo rapping, great flows, and savage burns!
There's a lot of contention over the Jefferson-Hemmings thing, I am of the belief that it was actually Randolph Jefferson, Thomas' younger brother, who was the father.
Douglass v. Jefferson was over at the matchup. Because Jefferson literally can't throw more than 3 lukewarm disses, while Douglass has more, and they're all SCALDING HOT.
I was waiting for you to do this one! One of my personal favorites even I know it’s pretty bad, but the pure energy of Jefferson in his first verse with the”I’m endowed with certain unalienable skills” just makes me lose. Mat4yo made a pretty good rework of Jefferson’s second verse
@@phanta8880 No offense to Knox, he is still my go to break down guy, but I just finished Mat4yo's breakdown; and it is the best I have heard yet on this ERB. He actually understood both of the men, as well as the time they lived in. I posted a comment here about exactly what he said. That America being on the brink of civil war from the beginning because of slavery, and men like Jefferson had to crawl towards equality so others could run for it.
19:22 It wasn't "all white men" either. It was specifically for white landowners. If you were a white man that didn't own land, tough luck, you don't have the same rights.
@@copocopocopocopo I didn't disagree, all I'm saying is the only people with money to own land were rich white men who were the white landowners, that's it. Not disputing there being poor white people and them being treated like crap because that would be stupid.
@@copocopocopocopo yeah except poor white men could work their way into a different class and vote. Also still had some basic rights that black slaves not only didn't have but many were prevented from having by LAW.
Always love the reactions man, and I think ERB should put you in the next battle. I would like to suggest your next reaction be a little-known Eminem feature: Kid Rock ft Eminem - F*ck Off
another one sided rap. As soon as Douglas had his verse, Jefferson became an apologist. No more attacks, just all "im sorry, im sorry, i know i was wrong but im sorry"
“I topple any tyrants so kings and pirates beware” Jefferson sent US warships to the Mediterranean Sea to deal with the Barbary pirates, bombarding pirate bases in 1805, in what came to be known as the First Barbary War.
1776 to 1865. It took almost a hundred years for the system Jefferson helped create to make slavery illegal. Of course you could also say it took less than a hundred years for the system Jefferson helped create to end the legal slave trade that had been a major force of power since the dawn of civilization. Fifteen thousand years of nations, wealth and power built on the backs of slaves, and Jefferson built a country that changed that in just 90 years.
Yyyeah don’t act like we were the first nation to abolish slavery. Also, in all those thousands of years, almost none of those nations went so far as to say slaves were *property* instead of *people*. That was some new shit in the world, only a few hundred years old in 1865.
@@davidalan528 Maybe not the first, though I can't think of any other before it. And no, slaves were property in other places and times too. The new world, the middle east, Africa, eastern Europe, ancient Rome... But people weren't stupid, they knew that slaves were people. It just didn't matter. Slaves were just people that could be owned. Some places did have different practices of course. In ancient Israeli law, slavery was a form of debt payment. If you can't pay a debt, you work as a slave until it would be paid off at a fair wage. Or until seven years pass, at which time debts are forgiven and slaves are freed. (I can't say how well that went in practice, but that was the law.) The only difference as far as I can see for the new world is that in the increasingly scrutinous eye of the world, 18th - 19th century slavers were forced to try and rationalize and justify their owning of people using increasingly desperate measures, until it came to a war. If there was a distinction, it was that in times of old, one could claim a slave by beating a man into submission. As society developed, slaves became a part of the economy, and the economy had to be quantified. Thus slaves became a commodity. Either way, the United States isn't responsible for the existence or nature of slavery in North America. And while it might not have been the first country to abolish the practice, it was certainly the one that did so with enough of a global impact to make the abolition universal.
@@TheOtherGuys2 Of course the US isn’t responsible for slavery in North America - the latter predates the former by centuries. But the US was not only not the first, it was actually among the last to abolish slavery. Spain, the Netherlands, France, Brazil, and Portugal all abolished slavery before the Emancipation Proclamation, much less the actual 13th Amendment. Let’s go ahead and separate modern chattel slavery from its ancient counterparts, if you think that considering people property is nothing more than a see-through rationalization (I disagree, but not strongly enough to argue the point). I do want to correct that 18th-19th century bit though, chattel slavery is the considering of people as property and the Portuguese kicked it off in the 15th century - but let’s only deal with those five hundred years or so from the 15th century onset to the League of Nations banning it. All I’m saying is, let’s don’t give the United States any undue credit for its handling of slavery. It’s this country’s original sin, the unabashed hypocrisy of boldly claiming the Enlightenment ideals of natural rights to liberty while claiming that dark-skinned-enough people were property. We’re the only slave nation founded on Enlightenment ideals, making us the biggest hypocrites in the bunch for not abolishing slavery when Jefferson wanted to - at the Founding. He just neither had the pull nor the cojones to push that through. We’re not world leaders boldly recognizing that hey, slavery is wrong - we’re latecomers to the freedom party.
@@davidalan528 There is undoubtedly a hypocrisy in a nation conceived in liberty having slavery. That being said, it wasn't conceived as a nation at all, rather a unified collection of nation states, and some of those states had legal slavery. I think that in general, the global eye being increasingly aware of the problems with the slave trade meant that in general the practice was on its way out by the 19th century. The US were just divided on the issue and rather than the states solving it individually, they argued about it for a long time. So I agree that the US are not solely responsible for it being abolished. There are a couple things I'd like to correct though. One is that I didn't say that slaves weren't considered property until the 18th-19th century, I said that in that time period, the world was becoming more scrutinous of the practice, leading to its abolition in various countries. Two is that you listed Brazil as abolishing slavery before the US, but it did so in 1888. Three is that while there absolutely was a race-based prejudice stemming from the slave trade in the Americas, I do think it's important to note that the reason Africans were brought across the Atlantic was not because European colonists thought of them as property or inferior because of their skin colour, but rather because they were available for cheap. Africans were for sale, where other African tribes conquered and captured them, and found a market selling the prisoners to Europeans. And to Arabic slavers as well. The reality is that far from all slaves in the Americas were African. Irishmen for example, were used as slaves, but considered so cheap they were used for jobs that were too dangerous to risk a black slave on. (eg. standing in a grain silo to spread the grain around as it's being filled.) And it was hardly ever recorded, more under-the-table dealing. I don't know off hand, but I expect more than a few Chinese people were enslaved also. Working on the trans-continental railroad was basically that. In short, I agree that the US are not solely responsible for abolition, and that in some states it did last a lot longer. But do consider that the US' abolition of slavery started with Vermont in 1777. It was at no point an overnight change that could be made, but they made it.
OMG I JUST REALIZED, IN HAMILTON JEFFERSON ONCE SAID WHEN HE GOT HOME FROM FRANCE (in the song ‘what’d I miss?’) “There's a letter on my desk from the President Haven't even put my bags down yet Sally be a lamb, darlin' won'tcha open it?”
There is a video by a guy named Mat4yo where he covered this ERB and he laid out how Jeffersons verse couldve been better and actually overlays his own track on the verse and it is 100x better (personally). Douglas still wins in the end, but at least it shows Jefferson giving it a fighting chance instead of giving up to apologize in the second half
Technically there is only a 50% chance that Thomas was the father of Sally's children. There is actually a very strong possibility that Tom's brother Robert could be the father.
Love the ERB reactions and was hoping maybe when you’ve covered them all you’d check out LEGO vs Minecraft by DanBull and The Stupendium. Technically it’s not an ERB battle but NICEPeter and EPICLloyd both collaborated and feature on it, it’s a fun take on the more jovial rap battle that still manages to be fun and well written. Worth a look for a Friday battle reaction filler.
What else should we react to? 🤔 Comment below! Also if you like the song in the intro story the channel directly & download my new album ‘Blacklist’ now 🖤 www.knoxhillmusic.com
Just gonna keep trying to manifest that Hadestown reaction 🌹 lol
Much love Knox!
From Harry Mack OB 60 i hope you react this one 🔥🔥
You should definitely check to the 2 Nice Peter vs Epic Lloyd rap battles at some point.
I'd love for you to react to the Harvey Sea Salt Rap Battles, especially the Football vs Fùtbol Rap Battle, since you seem to love sports (if I am not wrong you used to be a Footballer/Soccer player as well) and the Marvel vs DC Rap Battle. Other great ones include the PS5 vs XBOX SERIES 1 Rap Battle as well as the Cartoon Network vs Nickelodeon Rap Battle. I feel that you've reacted to many different ERB videos (I love them) and I would love for you to react to these ones, since they are similar in concept, except the Harvey Sea Salt Rap Battle are animated and not live action. I think you will love the bars on the videos I mentioned above.
Rick Grimes vs Walter White
One line I love is "The what the fuck does it mean to this guy" bar.
A reference to "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" a book by Frederick Douglass
I like how he said “not to mention third President” because in real life Jefferson never really cared that he was President lol. It was always at like the bottom of his accomplishments and never really considered it that big of a deal.
He was also counting in order. "1st Secretary of State, VP number 2, not to mention 3rd President"
To be honest, Jefferson was slightly ashamed of that fact. He never wanted the office of President to be as important as it is today. He wanted the power to be in the hands of the people: they vote for their representatives, who elect their state senators, who he wanted to elect the office of the president.
Well, in the hands of RiCH YT people, at least.
@@Karate_Shark he did misuse presidential power throughout his term though, like Louisiana Purchase, so that is ironic
@@ShantanuShinde1 I'm pretty sure he had a good enough reason for it. I believe he realized that it would be too much lost had he ignored the opportunity.
Its really funny how a lot of people thinks removing slavery in their time is something a president can do.. He will be dead before he can do anything if he tries to forcefully remove something already ingrained in society in a short amount of time.. he is president for only 8 years who is trying to remove a practice that is already hundreds years old, come on...
Really glad you caught the "Aw, FREDERICK, I've never heard a verse I DUG LESS" bar. You have no idea how many reactors I've seen completely MISS that one.
They didnt miss it, it was just a corny joke😅
I know a lot of people hate this one for being a one topic battle, but I really like it. It makes it seem like they actually have a reason to be rapping/arguing.
I mean there aren't a lot of topics that can go against Slavery and for now great Thomas may have been, he was kinda hippocrotical
It just feels like less a rap against each other/argument and more just punching down one guy. More a history lesson than a battle which in some cases for erb can work as there are battles that arent about the victor such as Scrooge vs Trump being kne if my favorites. I just dont like this one cause it starts so good with both first verses then Jefferson just gives up verse 2 and douglass continues the beat down. There are battles j like that are one sided but at least the other opponent didnt just give up to give the other guy the win
Seriously, Knox needs to be on ERB.
Yes! He resembles Tom Brady a bit. Would be cool to have him on since I don't think there have ever been NFL characters in ERB.
If ScruFace Jean can do it so can he.
He can play Starlord
That would be amazing!
I think it's time knox debut on erb
Something you missed! "I topple any tyrants, so kings and pirates beware" of course there's the classic "pirates beware" which references signs in unfriendly ports that warn pirates if they're caught they'll be put to death. But there's also a reference to Thomas Jeffersons presidency, where he fought and defeated the Barbary pirates that kept attacking American ships.
Edit: changed from pirates to Barbary pirates. Thanks to ryan alving for reminding me of the name.
The Barbary pirates right?
@@ryanalving3785 yeah! Forgot their name there lol
There's a reason the US Marine Corpse Hymn mentions "the shores of Tripoli".
@@Crazael that's a cool fact!
Knox you didn't miss Lloyd's cameo...it was the part where Ben Franklin, Elvis, & Clint Eastwood showed up!
This ERB is one of the best imo, both in writing and delivery. Also it may sound weird for american people, but here in Europe we're taught very little about american history. So this ERB was the very first time i've heard of Fred Douglas, and i knew very little about Jefferson before. It's always best when Epic Rap Battle of History actually is about history.
you mean taught little about non-whites in america lol
many ppl in america barely know FD
*Douglass, two s on his name
@@BeautifulEarthJa I mean idk I learned about him way back in elementary school. Also why r u correcting them on what they learn about? Unless you’re European, I doubt you’d know
@@BeautifulEarthJa Tbh I'm half black and the only reason I know anything about FD was I saw his picture in a textbook that barely mentioned him and had to look into him (because he was straight muggin)
@@BeautifulEarthJa Another European here, and it generally applies to historical US-Americans as a whole. We pretty much only hear the very basics about the founding fathers, we maybe hear about Lincoln "being the president who freed the slaves" and that's pretty much it unless we're going into more specialized topics (hard to talk about the history of electricity without mentioning Edison, for example). Modern history is more detailed, especially here in Germany where WW1 and especially WW2 are a major part of history education here (to a fault, I'd dare say, because my school more-or-less skimmed over the Weimar Republic even though it's a historically-important background to understand how everything led towards WW2).
Of course that's more whites than non-whites, but still, US history is a footnote at best in European education, so four or five people we are barely taught about is no competition.
@@BeautifulEarthJa i wouldn't say that we're taught little about non-whites. Ofc i've heard of Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King, but Douglass lived during the XIXe century, and in school, we barely talked about the american civil war for example.
I'm not generally a fan of the 'last line wins" attitude some people have, but Douglas's last line was the best in the whole battle.
That last verse wrecked TJ. "Alien to your unalienable rights", "We the People (who are white)", and "but what the fuck does it mean to this guy?" gets me every time. For me, that's the hardest hitting line of the whole thing. "Yay, 4th of July!" ... and? If you're not a male, white landowner, wtf difference does that make?
Ironically, if the slave- and land-owning class hadn't decided they didn't want to pay taxes to the English crown any more, slavery in the US would have been abolished in 1807, 58 years earlier.
@@Brooke-rw8rc same for Texas. The white Texans rebelled largely because Mexico abolished slavery (also, the Mexican government invited gringos to settle in Texas on the assumption they would obey Mexican laws). They weren’t fighting for freedom from oppression. They were fighting for the freedom TO oppress. So of course Texas is at the forefront of denying the true history of this country
I disagree, because most of Freds lines were either incorrect or out of context. Yes TJ kept the slave he inherited, and never freed them; however it was against the law to free slaves in Virginia, a law he actively tried to change while he was governor. Also his line “all men are created equal” moved to the fore front of the movement and is the reason many northern states abolished slavery before 1800.
@@erikwalters2551 Don't say stupid things.
@@scottchaison1001 not stupid if it’s correct.
Btw the reason Thomas Jefferson couldnt free his slaves was because he was in a ton of debt and slaves being considered property could be seized at the time to pay for the debt he owed. Thomas Jefferson was whats known as land rich dollar poor. he owned a ton of land but bought it all with debt. So tbh he didn't really own slaves the people he was in debt to owned them.
¿?
He was broke for his expensive tastes, if he wanted he wouldn't have been broke and could have free slaves, but in that case he should have renounced to things (like expensive european wine)
Is anyone else also impressed that Knox actually says the intro and promotion stuff at the beginning of every video, rather than just film a video and play that in the beginning?
Yes.
Since you brought it up, you should definitely do Ben Franklin vs Billy Mays! Please
When Douglass says "you couldnt whip a 5th of me man" it could be a third meaning having to do with alcohol, since, as president, Jefferson imported over 20k bottles.
When ERB went to meet JB Smoove who played Frederick Douglass in this, he told THEM outright that he really wanted to be in an ERB video. They were there to ask him if he would! So. EVERYONE was happy that day lol
I feel this battle was diminished slightly with Douglass having done so much more in real life but hanging onto the slavery topic for almost every single bar. Then Jefferson went apologize mode for his round two and just kinda gave up the battle.
I'm black and I can admit that it seems this battle was completely given to Douglas. But it was still a good battle if you look past that.
one thing people mentioned in comments of original video is its kind of in a politicians nature to give apologies/explain there fuck ups any way they can which is probably why his second verse was what it was
they do tend to try to play more into the nature of the person or character with the lines so it makes sense
@@lordgainz5192 i don't know if it was really given to him, just that Frederick Douglass brought up things about Jefferson that he couldn't just dodge around. incidentally, this is very indicative of Douglass's style of writing and speech. he did not waste time, he got to the point and he explained it in a way that no one could miss it. in his first autobiography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he is at one point describing how horrific some of the physical injuries he got as a slave were. while describing cracks he developed in his dry and battered feet, he said they were deep enough he could have laid the quill he was writing with fully into them. no frills, just the truth - here is how bad it was.
JB Smoove was in the new Spider-Man trilogy! He’s a really funny actor!
As well as a comedian for a long time now
Frederick Douglass is one of my all-time favorite authors. I was excited for the battle because I was waiting for them to talk about his experiences, instead they did about the most fair and accurate thing they could for him which was make it about the shared struggle of slavery and bondage of all Black men and women in the US. Even after the end of slavery Frederick Douglass argued for reparations and was a vocal part of reconstruction.
The line about "Big Hair, Big Nuts, Big Issues", Big Nuts I think was more representative in the fact that he participated in the Underground Railroad and even knew John Brown prior to Harper's Ferry. Frederick Douglass was a trailblazer and did many of the things he sought out to do, brazenly, and without hesitation even though it often put him at risk. Also, he's famous for basically harassing Lincoln into making the Civil War about Slavery (something Lincoln did not want to do), only when it looked like England was going to join the war effort (on the side of the Confederacy) did Lincoln agree to but only so as to keep the English out of the conflict.
Frederick Douglass didn't care that he was haranguing the President of the United States, nor did he care what had to happen for Lincoln to make the "Big Issue" (The Civil War) about Slavery.
My favorite line is Jefferson counting
FIRST secretary of state
VP number TWO
THIRD president
how did I just notice this after years
The Ben Franklin one is pretty good, especially for being an early one
Correction Douglas went to New York State Not NYC, He actually lived in western NY. About an hour away from buffalo
Brought to you by ERB starring the battle between the 3rd President vs the Freed Slave turned Civil Rights Activist. Thomas Jefferson is played by NicePeter and Frederick Douglass is JB Smooth
The 4th of July line is a nice double as well, because, as Douglas said, Jefferson did die on the 4th of July. Douglas continues, "but WTF does it mean to this guy?" In 1862, Frederick Douglas gave a speech in Rochester, NY entitled, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"
The thing people over look with Jefferson and slavery, is how much of a powder keg the situation was at that point. Civil war was almost constantly on the verge of breaking out over that one subject, and men like him speaking out against it, was the crawling that was necessary, so others could later run with the cause.
@@MrConredsXyou're correct, I will not be watching that
@@misteranthropy7082 Short tik toks about 99 genders are on you're level of digestible knowledge
@@MrConredsX Maybe grammar videos are on *your level of digestible knowledge.
Besides, who trusts random video links in TH-cam comments?
@@MrConredsX haha lol 99 genders! attack helicopter! trans people feel bad about yourself! I'm an incel! lolololol
whiteppl apologising for slavers? *shocked Pikachu face
14:33 That line’s a double entendre because before he died, he was alive long enough to use the first telephone which was invented by Alexander Gram Bell
Fun fact. The actor of Fredrick is Peter Parkers principal NWH
i KNEW he was familiar thank you dude
@@lxwxs7716 when i saw the movie and saw him i was like “i know his voice. But from where” after movie looked it up
JB Smoove is what he goes by.
Y'all don't know JB Smoove
and Leon on Curb Your Enthusiasm
Fun fact: Frederick Douglass spent a large portion of his life in Rochester NY which is where nicepeter is from
idk if its supposed to be correlated but jefferson brought up the first draft pick and douglass brought up the asterisk both sports references
Love the history you add in man really makes these videos feel productive which is dope
The battle iv been waiting for this is one of my top 3 erb is just so good and they both sounded so good
I liked this rap battle. But it kinda felt like they paid Jefferson to take a dive in his second round. You never ask "We cool?" in a rap battle. You're just setting yourself up for the KO. When writing these things, it is important to be impartial to both sides.
Erb has proven a number of times they care about the entertainment factor more than an even balance.
You're right, but thats never been their priority.
@@Thr3leven im not sure how entertaining it is to watch this it's a slaughter and not funny like clint Eastwood's its just backtracking and totally unfair, ignoring the backtracking literally 5/6 of the battle was totally Fredrick Douglas, it should have been called Fredrick Douglas vs some Thomas
Ever seen Bruce Banner vs Bruce Jenner?
@@theburningruler7279
Oh yes.
Also seen Bruce Willis, Bruce Lee, and Bruce Wayne.
Now they just need to do Bruce Springsteen, and that will be all of them!
@@robbob5302 Don't say stupid things.
Love your haircut and that brow!!! As always-loved this!!
21:07 Well if he didn't notice that Peter was TJ the whole time, he did indeed miss the cameo xd
Disturbing fun fact: Sally Hemmings was the half sister of Thomas Jefferson's late wife and apparently had that resemblance.
well that would explain it
More disturbing fact: sally hemmings was a teenager. Thomas Jefferson freed all his slaves( including his children by sally hemmings) except her. Her children later raised the money to buy her freedom.
The 3/5 compromise bar is probably my favorite ERB line ever.
I used to live near Thomas Jefferson's home. Never personally went to check it out, because I hate slow tours... But that area is beautiful.
Hey Knox you should check out Em's track called Right for me on the ShadyXV
One of my favorites, I was hoping you'll do it eventually. Thanks Knox!!
So close to 700k Knox
Keep going..!!
I hope you'll check out Princess Rap Battles. Elsa vs Snow White is fun. 😁
Listen Jefferson might have some good bars, but Douglass MURDERED.
Jeff's entire second verse is damage control. Douglass killed him.
You should do Master Chief vs Leonidas next!
Waited so long for you to do this one Knox, also great Breakdown
Knox Hill, You forgot to mention the speech that Frederick Douglass's did in Rochester New york about How The 4th of july means to a slave.
One of my favorites! Hell yeah
haven't even watched the video yet. just wanted to say i love the little Shady sample in the opening track. that was slick.
Congrats 700K man
Yay late birthday react…yesterday was mine💕much love Knox
I didn't catch this the first time watching you Knox but the Compton reference flow its not E its the first line by Ice
I kinda want to see you react to Voiceplay, especially Geoff, even though it isn't rap.
I was looking forward to this one :) Much love man
I would strongly recommend Lewis and Clark vs Bill and Ted! It’s an insanely slept on battle with some great duo rapping, great flows, and savage burns!
Thanks Knox 💜
JB Smooth:
DC Universe as Frank the Plant
MCU as one of Peter Parkers Teachers
ERB Universe: Frederick Douglass
Congrats on 700k
If you haven't done Ben Franklin vs Billy Mays, you should definitely do that next!
Thomas Jefferson had some good bards, but Frederick Douglass absolutely DEMOLISHED him! 🤣
There's a lot of contention over the Jefferson-Hemmings thing, I am of the belief that it was actually Randolph Jefferson, Thomas' younger brother, who was the father.
The fact that the oral history passed by her descendants say that, Randolph was the father, should indicate he most likely was.
I think that someone did the math (counting 9 months) and Thimas Jefferson was the only one that could be the father
I was waiting for this one.
Hello Knox, amazing as per usual 🙌🏾
Nobody in these videos seem to catch FD’s line about the 4th of July. It’s a reference to his famous speech “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”
Douglass v. Jefferson was over at the matchup.
Because Jefferson literally can't throw more than 3 lukewarm disses, while Douglass has more, and they're all SCALDING HOT.
Oooooo I’ve been anticipating this one!
The “Tyrants and Pirates” line also refers to the Barbary Pirates and the Tripolitan War that happened while Jefferson was commander in Chief.
I was waiting for you to do this one! One of my personal favorites even I know it’s pretty bad, but the pure energy of Jefferson in his first verse with the”I’m endowed with certain unalienable skills” just makes me lose. Mat4yo made a pretty good rework of Jefferson’s second verse
Thanks for the Mat4yo recommendation, his change to the second verse is spot on.
@@andrewpeters6207 ofc! He wrote it really well
@@phanta8880 No offense to Knox, he is still my go to break down guy, but I just finished Mat4yo's breakdown; and it is the best I have heard yet on this ERB. He actually understood both of the men, as well as the time they lived in. I posted a comment here about exactly what he said. That America being on the brink of civil war from the beginning because of slavery, and men like Jefferson had to crawl towards equality so others could run for it.
Knox Hill this is why I wanted to show you this battle so much shots fired at Jefferson! 👍
19:22 It wasn't "all white men" either. It was specifically for white landowners. If you were a white man that didn't own land, tough luck, you don't have the same rights.
True. But it's redundant because only rich white men owned land back then.
@@Quincelee2 Yeah, but there were PLENTY of poor white men, who'd fit my description of not having the same rights.
@@copocopocopocopo I didn't disagree, all I'm saying is the only people with money to own land were rich white men who were the white landowners, that's it. Not disputing there being poor white people and them being treated like crap because that would be stupid.
@@Quincelee2 Sorry. I didn't mean to make it seem like I was heated. I misinterpreted what you said. My bad😳!
@@copocopocopocopo yeah except poor white men could work their way into a different class and vote. Also still had some basic rights that black slaves not only didn't have but many were prevented from having by LAW.
Always love the reactions man, and I think ERB should put you in the next battle. I would like to suggest your next reaction be a little-known Eminem feature: Kid Rock ft Eminem - F*ck Off
Loved JB Smoove as Freddie D more than I thought I would.
~_~
another one sided rap. As soon as Douglas had his verse, Jefferson became an apologist. No more attacks, just all "im sorry, im sorry, i know i was wrong but im sorry"
Amen, it's pandering not a battle
Once in a while we get those one sided battles but they're still entertaining as that's what we're all here for. ENTERTAINMENT!!!
Yeah. I didn't care for this one
Love this battle. Kinda unfair, but still really satisfying
I'm surprised Knox missed the opening line of Thomas Jefferson.
"Oh Fredrick I never heard a verse I dug-less (Douglas)." 🔥
“I topple any tyrants so kings and pirates beware” Jefferson sent US warships to the Mediterranean Sea to deal with the Barbary pirates, bombarding pirate bases in 1805, in what came to be known as the First Barbary War.
ohh, you should react to the rap battles that rhett and link did! or even their other songs, they're really good!
Still waiting on both parts to EpicLloyd vs Nice Peter
I'm one of those who've been begging for this one. Finally!
You should react to both Nice Peter vs Epic Lloyd ERB's in one video
This battle summed up:
TJ: "Yo, Imma whip your- oh shit, no, sorry, that's not, I didn't-"
Freddy D: "You owned slaves" *drops mic*
Similar ending to Washington V Wallace
1776 to 1865. It took almost a hundred years for the system Jefferson helped create to make slavery illegal. Of course you could also say it took less than a hundred years for the system Jefferson helped create to end the legal slave trade that had been a major force of power since the dawn of civilization. Fifteen thousand years of nations, wealth and power built on the backs of slaves, and Jefferson built a country that changed that in just 90 years.
Yyyeah don’t act like we were the first nation to abolish slavery. Also, in all those thousands of years, almost none of those nations went so far as to say slaves were *property* instead of *people*. That was some new shit in the world, only a few hundred years old in 1865.
@@davidalan528 Maybe not the first, though I can't think of any other before it. And no, slaves were property in other places and times too. The new world, the middle east, Africa, eastern Europe, ancient Rome... But people weren't stupid, they knew that slaves were people. It just didn't matter. Slaves were just people that could be owned.
Some places did have different practices of course. In ancient Israeli law, slavery was a form of debt payment. If you can't pay a debt, you work as a slave until it would be paid off at a fair wage. Or until seven years pass, at which time debts are forgiven and slaves are freed. (I can't say how well that went in practice, but that was the law.)
The only difference as far as I can see for the new world is that in the increasingly scrutinous eye of the world, 18th - 19th century slavers were forced to try and rationalize and justify their owning of people using increasingly desperate measures, until it came to a war.
If there was a distinction, it was that in times of old, one could claim a slave by beating a man into submission. As society developed, slaves became a part of the economy, and the economy had to be quantified. Thus slaves became a commodity.
Either way, the United States isn't responsible for the existence or nature of slavery in North America. And while it might not have been the first country to abolish the practice, it was certainly the one that did so with enough of a global impact to make the abolition universal.
@@TheOtherGuys2 Of course the US isn’t responsible for slavery in North America - the latter predates the former by centuries. But the US was not only not the first, it was actually among the last to abolish slavery. Spain, the Netherlands, France, Brazil, and Portugal all abolished slavery before the Emancipation Proclamation, much less the actual 13th Amendment.
Let’s go ahead and separate modern chattel slavery from its ancient counterparts, if you think that considering people property is nothing more than a see-through rationalization (I disagree, but not strongly enough to argue the point). I do want to correct that 18th-19th century bit though, chattel slavery is the considering of people as property and the Portuguese kicked it off in the 15th century - but let’s only deal with those five hundred years or so from the 15th century onset to the League of Nations banning it.
All I’m saying is, let’s don’t give the United States any undue credit for its handling of slavery. It’s this country’s original sin, the unabashed hypocrisy of boldly claiming the Enlightenment ideals of natural rights to liberty while claiming that dark-skinned-enough people were property. We’re the only slave nation founded on Enlightenment ideals, making us the biggest hypocrites in the bunch for not abolishing slavery when Jefferson wanted to - at the Founding. He just neither had the pull nor the cojones to push that through. We’re not world leaders boldly recognizing that hey, slavery is wrong - we’re latecomers to the freedom party.
@@davidalan528 There is undoubtedly a hypocrisy in a nation conceived in liberty having slavery. That being said, it wasn't conceived as a nation at all, rather a unified collection of nation states, and some of those states had legal slavery.
I think that in general, the global eye being increasingly aware of the problems with the slave trade meant that in general the practice was on its way out by the 19th century. The US were just divided on the issue and rather than the states solving it individually, they argued about it for a long time.
So I agree that the US are not solely responsible for it being abolished. There are a couple things I'd like to correct though. One is that I didn't say that slaves weren't considered property until the 18th-19th century, I said that in that time period, the world was becoming more scrutinous of the practice, leading to its abolition in various countries. Two is that you listed Brazil as abolishing slavery before the US, but it did so in 1888.
Three is that while there absolutely was a race-based prejudice stemming from the slave trade in the Americas, I do think it's important to note that the reason Africans were brought across the Atlantic was not because European colonists thought of them as property or inferior because of their skin colour, but rather because they were available for cheap. Africans were for sale, where other African tribes conquered and captured them, and found a market selling the prisoners to Europeans. And to Arabic slavers as well.
The reality is that far from all slaves in the Americas were African. Irishmen for example, were used as slaves, but considered so cheap they were used for jobs that were too dangerous to risk a black slave on. (eg. standing in a grain silo to spread the grain around as it's being filled.) And it was hardly ever recorded, more under-the-table dealing.
I don't know off hand, but I expect more than a few Chinese people were enslaved also. Working on the trans-continental railroad was basically that.
In short, I agree that the US are not solely responsible for abolition, and that in some states it did last a lot longer. But do consider that the US' abolition of slavery started with Vermont in 1777. It was at no point an overnight change that could be made, but they made it.
I would love to see you react to Dis Raps for Hire. I would recommend starting on season 2 episode 8
Oh my word he finally got to it
OMG I JUST REALIZED, IN HAMILTON JEFFERSON ONCE SAID WHEN HE GOT HOME FROM FRANCE (in the song ‘what’d I miss?’)
“There's a letter on my desk from the President
Haven't even put my bags down yet Sally be a lamb, darlin' won'tcha open it?”
Awe man I need you to listen to Ben Franklin vs Nikola Tesla! I love your knowledge of history and learn so much from your videos
Love your all videos but you must listen Omegle bars 60 it just CRAZY
Knoc Hill: *Throws out some British slander*
Me (a Brit): Mhm...*holds his British tongue*
😂😂😂
There is a video by a guy named Mat4yo where he covered this ERB and he laid out how Jeffersons verse couldve been better and actually overlays his own track on the verse and it is 100x better (personally). Douglas still wins in the end, but at least it shows Jefferson giving it a fighting chance instead of giving up to apologize in the second half
Please react to Rustage's Overflow album. It's really good.
Can’t wait for your reaction to BZRP music session #49 🔥🔥
This was great!! You like history so you should check one of their early ones; Christopher Columbus Vs Captain Kirk I think you will like it 🙌
Listening to Knox break down TJ's first verse.. knowing how this ends...
Technically there is only a 50% chance that Thomas was the father of Sally's children. There is actually a very strong possibility that Tom's brother Robert could be the father.
first time being pretty early to a Knox Hill video
Love the ERB reactions and was hoping maybe when you’ve covered them all you’d check out LEGO vs Minecraft by DanBull and The Stupendium. Technically it’s not an ERB battle but NICEPeter and EPICLloyd both collaborated and feature on it, it’s a fun take on the more jovial rap battle that still manages to be fun and well written. Worth a look for a Friday battle reaction filler.
Hey Knox, you're always so good! Would you react to Rick Grimes vs Walter White? It's really good!
He already did
I think Houdini vs Copperfield is a good ERB that I'd like to see your reaction to
Also Mr T vs Mr Rogers is a good one
10:57 "Hey pot, name's kettle. We're both black, and I'm sure you fucking hate that."
You should check out cam steady for video game rap battles
More please
Intro song is 🔥
I cried when he didnt get the barbary states line 😢