Random, aka Mega Ran, Interview: SXSW 2010

Raheem Jarbo is not your average middle school teacher. Not many teachers are known by rap aliases like Random, aka Mega Ran, aka Random Beats, aka Big Ran. But these are the names by which the hip-hop and nerdcore communities best know Jarbo. The Philadelphia native and Penn State University graduate first came to notoriety for the critically acclaimed 2006 underground album 'The Call.' However, he has become best known for his Mega Ran project in which he creates songs based on the 'Mega Man' video game series. Spinner.com recently caught up with Jarbo before SXSW to find out what makes Random so, well, random.

Describe your sound.

I call it new retro. I love to use 8-bit melodies, the old Nintendo Entertainment System sounds to give it a retro vibe. And I add some New-Age lyrics to them dealing with some real-life issues. So, there's a lot of fun, but there's also a lot of heartache, a lot of storytelling. It's kind of all over the place, hence the name Random.

Is that how you came up with your name?

Well, originally, I got the name from an 'X-Men' character in an 'X-Factor' comic book I used to read. There was a character named Random, and he was able to shape-shift and to change into anything. I felt like, musically, that kind of fit me because I feel like I'm able to shape-shift and do a lot of different things and explore a lot of different avenues that rappers don't normally explore. So, that made me Random.

Talk about the alias Mega Ran and how that all started.

It was something I did originally as kind of a joke. I was just messing around with some 8-bit themes, some Mega Man themes, and I came up with the idea. I guess it was in a dream or something where I just said, "Mega Ran. This is it. I'm gonna do it, and I'm gonna see what happens with it." I was almost scared to put it out because I didn't know how people would accept it. It was such a total change from what I'd done, which was very underground/grassroots/hip hop -- very sample-based, very soulful -- dealing with a lot of conscious and political themes. This was totally opposite of that. It was all fun, pretty much meaningless music -- just me having some fun on some Mega Man beats. And I kind of adopted a persona where I would tell a story through the album of me dreaming I was Mega Man and having to fight bosses. It was funny, it was cute, but it kind of scared me because I didn't want people to think I had completely lost my mind and write me off as a serious artist.

But people actually enjoyed it -- from hardcore hip hop fans to 8-bit video game fans to nerdcore fans. I didn't even know there was nerdcore until I released this. That community has totally welcomed me with open arms and loves the music. It's taken me places I never dreamed of going. It's funny that something I was almost ashamed of, that I didn't want to become too big or have it define me has turned out to be my most successful musical venture yet.

And that led to your arrangement with Capcom.

Yes, one of the people that heard about when I started talking about putting out a Mega Man album was Capcom. It's funny because they sent me a message on MySpace, and I was really afraid to mention it on MySpace because of all the copyright issues. I didn't want my MySpace page to get deleted, so I tried to just mention it on other sites. Then I got a message from Capcom on MySpace and they were like, "Hey, we heard you're doing a Mega Man project."

At that point, I got a giant lump in my throat and thought, "Oh no. Here we go." But, thankfully, they told me that it wasn't a cease and desist letter. And not only that, but they liked it, and they wanted to help promote it. That was almost like a sick joke or something, and I was like, "Is this serious?" I've played Capcom games my whole life, and now they know who I am. It was just crazy. And they offered me to come out to Comic-Con and perform, and I've done a couple of Capcom events since then. It's just been a great relationship.

Talk about your musical influences going back to your Philly roots and the Call up to now.

It all started for me in Philly -- soul music central. This is, like, the birthplace of soul music. Philadelphia International Records, where a lot of great music came out -- the O'Jays, Teddy Pendergrass, things like that. That to me was my biggest inspiration coming up. Music was always on in the house, always some old soulful stuff. Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops, the Spinners, the Temptations, Smokey Robinson. Marvin Gaye was probably my biggest inspiration as a musician. [Gaye] and Bob Marley and things like that where they're speaking about real issues throughout the community and throughout the world, and they're managing to do it in an accessible way.

Later on I got into hip hop. Some of my favorites were LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick. I love Slick Rick because of his ability to tell a story. I've always felt like being able to make music is a gift, and you probably shouldn't use that gift to brag all the time, but maybe to help the listener think or help them through a situation. That's always the best music to me: those songs that have substance or a point or a meaning. So I tried to do music like that.

What's your biggest vice?

I really don't think I have a vice. I don't want to say I'm this super-positive guy who is always on task and on point, but I really don't feel like I have that thing that holds me down. I feel like everything around me I can use as inspiration in some way. So, I feel like, "Bring it on."

What's in your festival survival kit?

Comfortable shoes! I plan on doing a lot of walking around. There's just so much going on. It's a music fan's wet dream.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

Tootie from 'The Facts of Life.'

How about your musical guilty pleasure?

It would have to be Soulja Boy. I can listen to Soulja Boy's music and find the entertainment and comedic value. And because of that, I'd actually listen to it again.

Ben Beach is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.