| Michael Jordan vs Muhammad Ali | |
|---|---|
| |
| Battle information | |
| Release date | December 3, 2013 |
| Number | 38 |
| Views | 57,000,000+ (as of January 10) |
| Length | 2:36 |
| Timeline | |
| Previous | Bob Ross vs Pablo Picasso |
| Next | Donald Trump vs Ebenezer Scrooge |
| Beat Information | |
| Beat(s) | ??? |
| BPM | 96 |
| Beat producer(s) | Bridge Compositions |
| Other information | |
| Actors | Keegan-Michael Key Jordan Peele |
| Rappers |  
|
| Location(s) | A basketball court A boxing gym |
Michael Jordan vs Muhammad Ali is the thirty-eighth installment of Epic Rap Battles of History and the fifth episode of Season 3. It features five-time NBA MVP, Michael Jordan, rapping against world heavyweight boxing champion and civil rights activist, Muhammad Ali. It was released on December 3rd, 2013.
Cast
Keegan-Michael Key as Michael Jordan
Lyrics
Michael Jordan:
Why don't you dodge this battle like you did Vietnam?
'Cause you got as much chance of beating me as LeBron!
I'm a flying machine, like the world has never seen!
You can fight one man? I can drive through a whole team!
I choke a dope with his own jump rope!
You'll get smoked when I flow, you Kentucky-fried joke!
Used to float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,
Now you double dribble balls that nobody can see!
Muhammad Ali:
(Ooh!) Here comes Jordan, big tongue wobbling,
Flying through the air like a big dumb goblin!
You're the only Bull that's uglier than Rodman!
Messing with me is gambling: you got a problem!
Your whole basketball career turned whack
When you came back a Wizard like Gandalf the Black!
You should've kept your ugly sneakers packed up on a shelf!
Stick to golf: you can keep the ball to yourself!
(Ooh!) I'm so pretty; my hands are so fast!
I'll whup your face back to your Hitler mustache!
Now your daddy got killed, and I feel for your family,
But your baseball career: now that was a tragedy!
Michael Jordan:
Man, you make me sick, but I'm better with the flu!
You should let the Fresh Prince do your rapping for you! (Swish!)
I would pass the mic to Pippen, but I'm not done scoring!
Stay all up in your grill like my name was George Foreman!
Muhammad Ali:
I saw you slapping Reggie Miller. Boy, what's wrong with you?
You fight like the little girls who make your Nike shoes.
McDonald's and underpants as corporate backers,
You stay at the Ritz 'cause you sold out to crackers!
Michael Jordan:
So Cassius wants to talk about cashing checks?
I'll school you through your bug spray,
Off your Broadway play, over the Japanese dude sitting on your face!
Hit nothing but net! You ain't seen nothing yet!
Man, you needed a movement 'cause you're so full of shit!
I'm a better athlete and a better MC!
Battle me two more times, watch me get a three-peat!
Muhammad Ali:
Beep beep! Why don't you back up that trash?!
I'll leave you like Liston: flat on your ass!
You need to bounce back to North Carolina, kid,
'Cause your rapping sucks more than Space Jam did!
Poll
Trivia
General
- This is the second battle to feature famous athletes, after Babe Ruth vs Lance Armstrong.
- This is the fifth battle overall in which both title rappers were alive at the time of its release, the first being Sarah Palin vs Lady Gaga, the second being Hulk Hogan and Macho Man vs Kim Jong-il, the third being Nice Peter vs EpicLLOYD, and the fourth being Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney.
- It is the second such battle in which at least one rapper has since died, after Hulk Hogan and Macho Man vs Kim Jong-il.
- Although average in length, this is the first battle since Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney where each rapper had more than two verses, making it the fourth battle in which this occurs.
- It is also the shortest of the four.
- This is the sixth battle in which a rapper crossed the "line", which separates both rappers from each other, in the middle of the battle.
- This happened in both battles featuring Key & Peele.
- On August 22nd, 2016, "Don't count the days til Season 5.5, make the dates count" was written in the description of the video. This is a reference to Muhammad Ali's quote, "Don't count the days, make the days count."
- After the release of Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton, the quote was changed to, "Don't count the days til the next rap battle, make the dates count."
- This is the third battle to feature at least one rapper who was alive at the time of the battle's release but is currently deceased. The first is Hulk Hogan and Macho Man vs Kim Jong-il and the second is Albert Einstein vs Stephen Hawking.
- This is the first battle in which each rapper has three, rather than two, verses. This would eventually become the norm rather than the exception.
Continuity
- This is the first time in which a rapper mentioned two previous rappers in a battle (Gandalf and Adolf Hitler).
- This makes it the sixth and seventh time a previous rapper was mentioned overall.
- The sky outside the window of Muhammad Ali's boxing gym was the same sky used in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s background.
- The fact that the skies were the same was an inside joke as both characters were portrayed by Jordan Peele.
Production
- This is the first battle in which both Nice Peter and EpicLLOYD did not appear at all, neither physically nor vocally, excluding the announcer.
- This is also the first battle in which Lloyd did not appear at all.
- A small picture of Peter as the Cat in the Hat spoofing the NBA logo could be seen in Michael Jordan's background.
- This episode was released one day later than originally scheduled due to technical difficulties.
- This is the seventh battle to date in which previous guest actors, in this case Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, reappeared.
Errors
- In Michael Jordan's title card, his basketball vanished after he threw it through the hoop.
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