Hey Everyone – it’s almost time for Comic Con! And that being said, I HAVE to tell you about one of the coolest things we’re going to have at the Capcom booth: a celebration of Mega Man’s 20th Anniversary with a live performance by rapper Random (aka: Random Beats) performing his latest creation, Mega Ran!

“So what’s Mega Ran?” I hear you ask. And I answer: only the coolest Mega Man music you’ve ever heard! Seriously, no joke. He took classic Mega Man themes and turned them into kick-butt tracks, complete with lyrics following Mega Man’s adventures or in the words of someone like Mega Man. Old school Blue Bomber fans are gonna hear these classic themes and flip.

I was able to interview Random (or as the kids that he teaches know him, Raheem Jarbo), so you’ll get a chance to meet the man before you see the magic live at Comic Con.

Scarlett: Where are you from?

Random: I’m from Philadelphia, born and raised. cue the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” music Just under a year ago, I decided to uproot and move to Phoenix for a teaching position, so here I am.

S:What made you decide to do this album?

R:As a huge videogame fan, and being a “random” guy, I one day was reading a website about Mega Man, and realized that 2007 made the 20th year anniversary of Mega Man’s release, and went online searching for some of the old theme songs to hear them. Somewhere along the way I got a crazy idea to sample a tune and do one song about Mega Man. Then I had such a hard time picking a song, so “Mega Ran” was born!

S:When did you first play Mega Man and which game was it? 5th grade?

R:I don’t want to show my age, but I may have to (laughs). Yeah, I believe it was the 4th or 5th grade when I played Mega Man for the first time. I had a subscription to Nintendo Power magazine, and Mega Man 2 was a cover story one issue, and it made me so excited about the game, that I went back and begged my mom to buy the first Mega Man. That was the most challenging game that I remember playing in those days, and so I was hooked. I even made up and drew my own Mega Man bosses in my sketch books in those days.

S:Which is your favorite Mega Man game and why?

R:Mega Man 2 was my favorite, because that was the game that changed it all. The backgrounds were so big, colorful and fun, the bosses and the music were so memorable. I love MM3 too because they added the slide, and Rush. I always wondered why he couldn’t duck, so this was the next best thing. However, the Top Spin…what was up with that, Capcom?

S:Why did you decide to use Mega Man as the backdrop to this production? What is it about the Blue Bomber that inspires you?

R:Mega Man’s plight is very similar to my own. In every Mega Man game, he faces totally insurmountable odds, giant robot armies coming from every which way. that’s sorta’ like me. As an educator, an artist, a producer, there generally is always an obstacle trying to prevent me from achieving a goal.

Also, Mega Man’s ability to take his opponents’ power is pretty cool too, and it parallels Random the artist. I’m named Random for a few reasons and one of them is that I’m always trying new things, like this project. I never want anyone to be able to predict Random’s next move. I make music from my heart and soul….and my brain. I have a pretty vivid imagination, so the sky’s the limit.

S:Mega Club rocks, by the way, that’s my favorite. Which track is your favorite?

R:I think my favorite track is “Grow Up,” just because it’s my favorite Mega Man theme song (Woodman-Mega Man 2). Plus it’s fun and silly, and reminds me so much of my childhood. That and “Aqua Soul” are probably my favorites.

S: Where can fans go to check out Mega Ran?

R:Here’s the link…

S:How did you get into becoming a special education teacher for middle school age kids?

R:Well, I kind of fell into education. Here I was in my senior year of college, scared to death of the fact that I was about to graduate, with no clue of what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be, when I met a very special instructor, Dr. Sam Richards at Penn State, who told me, in passing, almost jokingly that he thought I had the makeup of a teacher. I gave it a lot of thought, and decided to join a teaching program in Philly, and fell in love with it. And… here I am! It’s very difficult balancing 2 full time careers, teaching and music, but luckily I love both, so that makes it easier.

S:Does working with kids influence how you write your music?

R:It doesn’t. Even before I was a teacher, I was an artist, and I never put any foul language or violent themes in my music. So, it just happens to be great music that can be used in the classroom. So far my music has been in a few different colleges (Temple University, Penn State, Virginia Tech and more). I think it’s great that someone makes music that can be used in a classroom, and in a club at the same time…and even greater than it’s me. (laughs)

S:What are you listening to right now?

R:I honestly listen to “Mega Ran” at least once a day in my daily travels. I’ve also been listening to Maroon 5’s latest album a lot. I’m a big big fan of their stuff. Other than that, (RAHM Nation labelmate) Ohene’s album “Mysterion 7.”

S:What games are you playing right now?

R:Actually I’m alternating between the Mega Man 20th Anniversary Edition (I’ve been stuck on Mega Man 3 for about 3 weeks now) and NBA 2K7, I’m trying to finish a season, even though the NBA season has been over for a month now. With music and touring, it’s been difficult to sit down and play like I want to.

S:How hard was it to turn Mega Man’s pop-like themes into a harder sound?

R:Very difficult. But I welcomed the challenge. It’s weird, because every Mega Man theme is over 140 beats per minute…very fast, very pop, and too quick for hip-hop fans’ tastes. So the first task was to slow them down, or speed them up in some cases, in order to get them into the typical hip-hop song’s speed range, 84-92 beats per minute. I produced most of it myself, but I had some help from some great, great minds; DN3 (Random’s last album “The Call”’s executive producer), Samik (Producer of Random’s previous single “Raze the Bar”), and Domingo (producer for Big Pun, KRS-ONE and more)…and the end result is quite an experience! A must-have for any fan of video games, hip-hop or both!

S:Are you going on tour?

R:Yes, I am. Right now this is what my schedule looks like:
July 22 – The Sets, Tempe, AZ
July 27 – San Diego Sports Club, San Diego, CA
July 28 – Comic-Con, San Diego, CA
July 29 – Elevation West, Los Angeles, CA
July 31 – The Knitting Factory- Hollywood, CA (preorder tickets here: http://www.webookbands.musictoday.com/SeanHealyPresents/calendar.aspx)
August 25 – Nerdapalooza South, Gainesville, FL
September 22 – Nerdapalooza West, Eureka, CA

So come on out and catch a memorable show! I’ll be at the Capcom booth at Comic-Con on Saturday, July 29th, from 2:30-3:30 pm.

Get updates in the “MEGA RAN GROUP!” http://groups.yahoo.com/group/megaran
and join me on myspace: random215