Talk:Epic Rap Battles of History 59/@comment-6533831-20160110200713/@comment-5482968-20160112014335

I do get what you're saying in that, ye. Especially exchanging Ruth for Armstrong, who realistically speaking likely only got in for the controversy, not his achievements, which in most cases is something I think I'd dislike.

At the same time, however, while on a general level the statement is true, I think there's a bit of hyperbole added to it. Hillary & Norgay made a great contribution to the world, but they don't seem to have stuck with people the same way a lot of other historical giants have, and in a way that's a problem. Were they used, it's not necessarily an outrage, and it's easily understandable to see them getting deserved recognition. As people like to quote here to back up their defense of lesser-known figures, ERB likes educating others.

But at the same time, they could quite easily come off bland, perhaps even Lewis & Clark: Vertical Edition (obvious exaggeration, but I think it helps emphasize the point). In that instance I think you could maybe rectify the situation by pairing them up against an opponent with a bit more "flavor" (perhaps Frodo & Sam or something like that), but they're still "hikers" to the majority of people.

In the case of Shaka, there's the argument to be made that he was both very different from past rappers as well as understandable without a background. If one were to take a look at Shaka, even not knowing his name, you can get a sense of his character. He's the basic archetype for "African tribal warrior", which is easy enough to get. Hillary & Norgay might not have that.

This turned out way longer than expected, and given the length of time I took to write it, I acknowledge I may have forgotten the direction I intended, or more probably the conversation's moved on, but ye.