Today we have a very special guest. He’s the world record holder for most songs about Mega Man, worked with Capcom and Deep Silver and recently made its way into the WWE community. Oh, and did we mention he started out as a teacher? Let’s give it up for Mega Ran!
Interviewing a rap legend:
Nick: Although we already did a small introduction, could you please introduce yourself, for those who haven’t heard of you yet?
Mega Ran: I’m Mega Ran, teacher, rapper, hero. I make music about life, and the video games that inspire me.
N: You became popular with what they call ‘Nerdcore Hip Hop’. I personally listen to a lot of music from the Nerdcore genre, ranging from MC Frontalot to MC Lars, Schäffer the Darklord, YT Cracker, the guys from Starbomb and lots more. All of them define the genre differently. Could you give us a piece of information on how you see Nerdcore?
MR: Being nerdy is simply giving a ton of attention to things that most people might just casually use and love in their everyday lives. We are just passionate fans of things… myself being video games, Lars being literature, YTC being hacker culture.
N: Although you make a living with making music, you started as a teacher. If you ever had the opportunity, would you go back to teaching – for example in musical themes or on how to become a DIY artist?
MR: I wouldn’t want to go back to teaching unless the situation was perfect — music education would be fun or teaching people how to navigate the internet as DIY artists. I think I’d love that a lot!
N: Your whole persona is based around Mega Man, so it’s probably safe to guess that video games influenced your life and even your career a lot. Could you give some insight into how one decides to rap about videogames, instead of the .. usual themes in Hip Hop?
MR: I just fell in love with the feeling that games gave me. they made me want to explore…the music captivated me. it was an out of body experience for me. They also kept me out of trouble and even saved my life. I found the courage and my own voice through video games, so I’ll always be grateful to them for it.
N: I know, from your interview with MC Lars, that you held the record for most numbers about a video game series. How many tracks about Mega Man did you make? And which one is your favorite?
MR: As of the record there were 130 songs that I’d made about Mega Man, and I think I will stop there since it’s a record by a long shot and I want to explore some other forms of creativity in the future. My favorite track is probably “Wily,” inspired by the Mega Man 2 stage.
N: You also worked on the music for Mighty No.9 – a game we also reviewed but left us with mixed feelings. How do you feel about the spiritual Mega Man legacy?
MR: I did, it was an honor to go from a huge Mega Man fan, from renting the games at Blockbuster to being hand-picked by Inafune-san to work on music for the spiritual successor – truly an unreal story. I liked the game a lot, honestly– and I feel the game had some hiccups with the release, but the actual game was fun. I think people gave it so much flack because of the Mega Man expectations they set, and the huge amount of money it made on Kickstarter, so I don’t know that MN9 ever really had a chance to meet people’s hopes and dreams.
N: You already did lots of albums on Mega Man, made an album on Final Fantasy, some Eps about Castlevania and Ghouls & Ghosts. If you could pick any game you wanted to make an album about, with no restrictions at all, which one would it be?
MR: I’d probably do Mass Effect.
N: You recently released an album with MC Lars about literature, called the Dewey Decibel System. What is harder to write about, videogames or books?
MR: Honestly books, particularly old classics. I had to jump back into old books to get a better feel for some of the moments and themes I’d missed. With games, so much of it was muscle memory and I never forgot it.
N: Since you made your way into the WWE scene, are we to expect a WWE-album soon? Or addition of a Mega Ran song to the soundtrack?
MR: I’ve made several rap albums dedicated to the music of wrestling – Mat Mania. Those are on Spotify now. I make a new song or two about wrestling, gaming and whatever I’m into every month, but those are only available on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MegaRan
N: Any advice you want to give to our readers?
MR: Keep reading, keep watching and keep listening!
N: And to end the interview with some gaming related questions:
What is your favorite game of all time?
MR: Super Mario 3.
N: What is your favorite game at the moment?
MR: Zelda: Breath of The Wild
N: Do you have a favorite console or handheld?
MR: Dreamcast!
We want to thanks Raheem Jarbo (Mega Ran) for his time to talk to us! Check him out on his social media or catch him on tour.
Social Media, Music & Patreon:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MegaRanMusic/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/megaran
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/randombeats/
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2mCmDragybleJXqTqsOk5I
- Website: https://megaran.com/
- Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MegaRan
