Written by William G Chandler Jr., July 4, 2016, at 12:58 p.m.
Start in Philadelphia, in a classroom and on stage. You take on 10 years of teaching in the public school system. It was difficult at times.
However, his childhood influences help to create lessons for other people. The format does not change for Raheem Jarbo, known as Random, and Mega Ran. He believes in networking, and social media. Being a teacher never lets him forget a name. You decide to deny yourself eight- to 10-hour class days for more passion during 16- to 18-hour studio, stage, and other work. Visit him at Mega Ran on his website.
He loves pressure. His new album Mat Mania: The Album crushes obstacles. There are the works Panda Man, Killer Instinct Season 3, and Hype Man, too.
Oh yeah, get to the end of Mighty Number 9. Listen closely to his words in this interview. Sway to the music after.
Mega Ran Interview
Slickster: How do you keep your life simple and grounded?
Mega Ran: I keep my life simple and grounded by just keeping in mind and realizing so much of this is a gift. I don’t take anything for granted and it never gets old. I think that being able to realize that I get to make music for a living or do the things I would do for fun, or that I would do for free. For a living, I’m able to keep myself grounded and focused in order to continue to get past the privilege. So, I think it’s a lot about keeping it all in perspective.
What led you to teaching? Were there any experiences in teaching that were most influential?
Well what led me to teaching was eventually in my undergrad. About a year from graduating, I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. I had a bunch of ideas but I wasn’t sure. So, it was actually a professor, one of my favorite professors from sociology, and he told me during class that he thought I was great teacher.
I was great at debating and great at coming up with really, thought provoking questions, and curiosity and things like that. So he thought that I had all the tools that he thought would make a good teacher. I thought that was ridiculous. But, then I started looking into it and it actually interested me. So I took some courses and decided I would try out teaching for a year. I wound up falling in love with it.
Key experiences during teaching I think that kind of shaped me as who I am. I think of one particular time in Philly where I was substituting a really, rough class. I walked out at the end of the day, and I remember saying, or not even saying but I was thinking, and my face definitely said that I was giving up, I was out of here, and that I was not going to come back.
There was an elderly teacher, a woman, who stopped me as I was going through the hall. She said, “Hey you.”
I said, “Yes?”
She said, “Don’t you quit. Don’t you give up. You are their only positive male role model. You got to keep that in mind, whether they know it or not. If you disappear on them tomorrow, you’ll be just like everybody else in their lives who have vanished and said they were going to be there and then gave up. So think about it.”
It really made me think about. I kind of had a tear in my eye. I was ready to walk out, but I said, you know what, I’m going to give it another chance.
Have you worked with Beck, or considered it?
I definitely would. I’m a big of fan of what Beck brings to the table. I think he is an amazing musician and multi-instrumentalist and I think him and I could do some really great things. I never thought about us working together. But yeah, I think that, something left field like that, we would make some really awesome stuff together.
What would an MF Doom and Mega Ran album mean to you?
Oh man that would mean everything. It would be the greatest thing ever. That’s something I would love to do. MF Doom is one of my heroes. I feel like musically, I think we would click.
A lot of what I do with the Mega Ran stuff was very much inspired by what MF Doom was doing, like on Danger Doom, and before that the Madvillainy album. Huge fan.
Something like that would be epic. It would shake the foundation of underground rap. It would be so good. It would be fun.”
How would you feel about a Timbaland and Mega Ran, or Random album?
Well I’m a huge fan of Timbaland’s beats. I feel I have some inner kind of things where I am little bit worried about Timbaland because of some past things that he’s done and said. I don’t know if you know it but he has taken tracks from guys who have made chip tunes or things like that and sampled them without permission. When I heard about that happening, more than once with him taking stuff, and when he’s confronted about it.
He was like, “It was something from some game. I don’t know what game.” He didn’t look at game music, or chip tune music, as real music, you know. And I feel like maybe that was him just him being ignorant at that time, or maybe he’s into it now, or maybe he knows what’s going on.
But, I didn’t feel what he said, I didn’t like the answer. I felt a little disrespected by it. It kind of hurt my feelings. I would have to sit down with him, have a long talk to see what he thought about things, and if his mentality has changed since then. I’ve said things three years ago that I can’t stand by today. So I understand it. But we have to have a conversation. Before I instantly jump into something with him, I would like to make sure that he has a respect for the type of music we’re creating.
Philadelphia underground is where you started, have there been any other underground scenes that have been influential to your music?
Oh Definitely. I took a trip, one time, to LA. It was the first I’d been out there. It was definitely a trip to Los Angles and seeing Los Angeles’ underground scene. Seeing how unified it was, and how much the producers had a big part of it, that really touched me. It made me feel like this is something that we can apply to other scenes, hopefully.
Yeah, I absolutely was hugely inspired by the Los Angeles underground scene. The beat scene out there is just amazing. There’s some amazing producers out there. I been lucky enough to work with some of them. Guys like Dibiase. Flying Lotus has come out of there. Guys that are still innovating on another level. Beat makers that come out of the Los Angeles scene and been amazing. I’m definitely highly inspired by that.
What’s the difference between Phoenix underground, and Philadelphia underground?
Well there isn’t any difference, really. Phoenix and Philly have more similarities than I ever thought because they’re both kind of in shadows of bigger cities. With Philadelphia being near New York, and Phoenix being near Los Angeles, it’s like we’re the little sister and little brother and just fighting for relevancy. I think that makes people want to innovate and want to stand out. It’s awesome. Both of them push each other in an awesome way.
Yeah, I think they’re more similar than different because they both don’t feel they haven’t gotten their props, even though Philadelphia has had plenty of success stories. There’s still always that chip on the shoulder.
Random, or Mega Ran, who gets to make up the soundtrack for the next Mega Man title?
Well, one thing I’ve discovered is Random and Mega Ran are the same person. They’ve come together since my last album Random. The underlying theme of the album was Random finding Mega Ran and being able to come together and maybe even agree and disagree with each other.
We’re the same person. We just create off different elements, different things, and now the end result is fully one person. Random may be known for speaking his mind about social political issues. Mega Ran may be known for utilizing fantasy, his delivery, and metaphors. Why can’t they both be combined and create music that has an important meaning but is influenced by nerd and pop culture? That’s what the new album is.
How are your educational experiences and your performance experiences similar?
It’s exactly the same. I think I learned so much from teaching that I’ve been able to put into performing. Both ways. I think teaching has made me a better performer. Performing has made me a better to teacher.
At the end of the day, you’re standing in front of a group of people who may be a little bit skeptical of you. You have to convince them that you are about to bring it. You’re about it. You’re not just talking it. You’re for real.
Why did you pick life in Phoenix?
The lack of snow is what it was. It was a very simple thing. I was really tired of snow.
What was life like from the albums The Call to TeacherRapperHero?
I think that I had a lot of frustration that was pent up inside of me. From 2006 to 2009, I feel like those were my entry points. I was kind of learning myself, learning the world too, and just putting out there whatever I was feeling at the time. I think there was a lot of frustration, and misguided anger and confusion.
Now, I’ve learned to let so many things go that I don’t hold them to be as important as I did back in those days. I think that now my walk is so much more peaceful than it was then. It was a little more confrontational and confusing.
Who gets more from your music tours, you, or the audience?
Honestly, I think that’s about 50/50. Because I get to see people, visit friends, see new places, get to perform my art on stage, practice it, get better at it, and live my dream. Hopefully, people tell me they get important things from the show, honestly I think it’s 50/50, because I get just as much from them.
When you hear the words, it can’t stop, what do you think of?
I think of myself and my career. I tell myself all the time, I feel like I’m on a non-stop hamster wheel. This hamster wheel can’t stop. If I stop for a moment, then it’s going to all stop. I don’t feel that’s necessarily the case. I do feel that way. I feel that much pressure. I can’t stop performing. I can’t stop booking shows. I can’t stop writing music. Because if I do, then it’s all going to end. It’s all going to turnover and going to end. I’m not ready for that. I want it continue. I’m living the dream. It’s been amazing. I want it to keep going.
Have you ever been challenged lyrically in the classroom?
I have not, and I kind of would welcome that. I would welcome that. A kid comes up to me and says, “Yo, let’s go, I heard you nice.” I have not had that. If I was teaching now, I probably would because everybody raps these days. I think that’ll probably be the first thing that happens if I go back into teaching. They’ll be like, “I heard you rap, let’s go.”