The idea for the Epic Rap Battles of History originally came from a stand up suggestion from EpicLLOYD to Peter Shukoff.
In total, 15 real-life people have seen the rap battles in which they are parodied - Hulk Hogan, Barack Obama, Skrillex, Donald Trump, Stephen King, Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson, the MythBusters (except for Tory Belleci), David Copperfield, Criss Angel, Gordon Ramsay, and Elon Musk. Also, 4 actors have seen rap battles that parodied characters they played - David Tennant (Doctor Who), Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes), Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator), and Mark Hamill (The Joker).
In total, seven U.S. Presidents have been parodied in the series - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden.