I still must be the only person on the planet who doesn't get the appeal of the Epic Rap Battles. Mind you, I hate rap, which might be part of the reason.
It's a joke that works on a lot of levels...
- It's completely ridiculous that historical figures would engage in disputes via harsh rhymes.
- It's almost always the same two guys doing all the roles and sometimes they look completely awful... but hilariously so.
- Despite being written by two white guys, the beats and rhymes are rock solid. There is some legitimately clever lyrical work going on here at times.
- They completely understand exactly how the worlds of rap and history should collide in funny and clever ways. For instance, the video of Gandhi vs MLK was not only smart enough to include the awkward looking white preachers you'd see in pictures of civil rights marches, it also framed the entire episode as a rap reconciliation (basically when two rap crews drop their beef in the pursuit of ether money or not getting shot)... but Gandhi can't just let it go because cows are sacred in India (and thus so is 'the beef' between them).
Basically, it's really smart AND well produced. It's not a surprise it's taken off, especially after that truly epic Obama Vs Romney one they did right before the election.