2012 / Video / Tech-rivalry rap parody
Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates
2012 YouTube turned the Apple–Microsoft rivalry into a three-minute comedy rap battle.
The original is off-site. HAHrchives preserves the story and a route back to it.
What was this?
Actors playing Jobs and Gates trade fast punchlines, costumes, and exaggerated company lore. The format treats a major technology rivalry as a schoolyard argument with a beat and a comment section.
Why it spread
It arrived from a YouTube series built for participation: viewers argued over winners, requested matchups, and passed around the most recognizable lines. Jobs versus Gates gave that formula a rivalry almost everyone online already understood.
What happened
Actors playing Jobs and Gates trade fast punchlines, costumes, and exaggerated company lore. The format treats a major technology rivalry as a schoolyard argument with a beat and a comment section.
Where it came from
Epic Rap Battles of History released Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates in June 2012, with Nice Peter and EpicLLOYD turning familiar tech-company mythology into a performance showdown.
Why it mattered
Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates is a snapshot of early-2010s YouTube comedy making tech history feel like a shared, low-stakes fandom debate.
How it spread
It arrived from a YouTube series built for participation: viewers argued over winners, requested matchups, and passed around the most recognizable lines. Jobs versus Gates gave that formula a rivalry almost everyone online already understood.
Keep going
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