Billy Mays vs Ben Franklin
Billy Mays vs Ben Franklin is the tenth installment of Epic Rap Battles of History and the tenth episode of Season 1. It features TV pitchman, Billy Mays, rapping against American politician and inventor, Ben Franklin. After Billy Mays dies mid-battle, Vince Offer takes over for Mays. It was released on June 23rd, 2011.
Contents
Cast
Lyrics
Ben Franklin:
I'm big Ben Franklin, and this shan't be pretty!
Let me instruct you how we battle in the city of Philly!
You couldn't sell Rick James a bag of crack! You're out of practice!
My victory's more certain than death or taxes!
Fact is, you're a hack; wack QVC joke!
You peddle soap that cleans bird shit from my windows!
I'll craft a lyrical coffin and then spit the nails in!
Call me Arthur Miller, son, 'cause it's death of a salesman!
Billy Mays:
Hi, Billy Mays here with a special TV offer!
Watch me crush this bald, fat, foppish founding father!
I'll take my Awesome Auger and sow your Quaker Oats!
I'll shoot your rhymes down like a regiment of redcoats!
I'm lord of the pitch and leader in home sales!
You're just a lumpy pumpkin who invented the mail!
Benny's got kite 'n key, but you're in for a shock
When I strike you with bolts from my lightning rod cock!
Ben Franklin:
Stop! I protest these intolerable raps!
It takes just one easy payment for me to whoop your ass,
'Cause I'm mint; I'm money! I'm an educated gentleman,
So join or die, Bill, 'cause it's all about the Benjamin!
Billy Mays:
But wait, there's more…!
[Billy Mays suffers from a heart attack and dies.]
Announcer:
Is there anyone out there who can finish this battle?
Vince Offer:
You following me, camera guy? 'Cause it's about to get furious!
You're gonna love my nuts until you're bi-focal-curious!
Your boy George chopped down trees. You couldn't break a piece of balsa!
Slap Chop your face, make a double chin salsa!
Your style is so broke, they call you "Poor Richard"!
It's bad enough I gotta see you every time I tip a stripper!
Vince against a founding father is just too bad,
'Cause after this America is gonna lose a dad!
Poll
Trivia
General
- This is the first episode of Epic Rap Battles of History in which a rapper dies.
- This is the first battle in which Nice Peter does not portray a title rapper.
- This is the first battle whose title characters were all dead as of its release date.
- On August 22, 2016, "And you my friend will see, You've got a friend in the benjamin!" was written in the description. This is a reference to Michael Jackson's song "Ben", in which he sings "And you my friend will see. You've got a friend in me."
- The OxiClean logo, as well as the logo on both Billy Mays and Vince Offer's shirts, are all replaced by the ERB logo.
- During Mays' verses and the first half of the line "It takes just one easy payment for me to whoop your ass", the subtitles physically appear on the bottom of the screen.
Production
Continuity
- This is the first battle to feature someone who, as a cameo, later came back to rap in a fully-fledged battle. In this case, George Washington made a cameo appearance, and made a return in Season 3 to battle William Wallace in George Washington vs William Wallace.
- This is the second battle to feature commentary, which occurs when a voiceover describes what is happening or is about to happen in a battle, after Hulk Hogan and Macho Man vs Kim Jong-il.
Errors
- During Franklin's first verse, the subtitles appear larger in size when compared to the rest of the battle.
- When Franklin says "I'm big Ben Franklin, and this shan't be pretty", "shan't" is missing an apostrophe in the subtitles.
- During the first two lines of Mays' first verse, holes appear in the table, possibly due to the green screen reflecting off of the table's surface.
- When Mays says "I'll take my Awesome Auger and sow your Quaker Oats!", "Awesome Auger" and "Quaker Oats" are not capitalized in the subtitles.
- When Mays says "I'll shoot your rhymes down like a regiment of redcoats!", "redcoats" appears incorrectly as "red coats" in the subtitles.
- In the OxiClean Commercial, a phrase in the background reads "FREE GIFT! (WHEN YOUR ORDER MORE THAN YOU NEED)", instead of "FREE GIFT! (WHEN YOU ORDER MORE THAN YOU NEED)".
- In his second verse, when Franklin says "Stop! I protest these intolerable raps!", "I" is not capitalized in the subtitles.
- When Vince Offer says "'Cause after this America is gonna lose a dad!", "dad" is capitalized in the subtitles.
