Mega Ran
Musical
Artist
Various Albums
Plot
Summary: N/A
Critical
Evaluation:
Random, aka Mega Ran, calls himself a “Teacher. Rapper. Hero.” His music is an ideal selection for teens,
especially for the self-professed geeks and gamers. His masterful storytelling
covers subjects from games and gamer culture to the classics of literature. His
rap narratives are underlain with charged hip-hop beats (often chip tuned) that
accentuate the subject of each song marvelously. Born Raheem Jarbo, Random
started his career as a middle school English teacher before focusing on his
music. This history is represented in his three-album epic called Language Arts. Narrating the struggle
faced by both students and teachers in schools around the country, the songs
often include tongue-in-cheek references to outright and dead-on criticism of
our myopic school systems. Interspersed between these true to life and forward
leaning narratives are songs that tell the story of literary classics,
including Flowers of Algernon and
Kafka's Metamorphosis. While taken
individually, these songs are a fun homage to the original material, but when
taken as a part of the album, in its entirety, these tracks are a fitting part
the overarching story. Random's talents really come to play for the interests
of teens in his video game themed albums.
As Mega Ran, his chip tuned beats support lyrics about popular video
games and the ups and downs of a young gamer's life that any geek/gamer will
empathize and enjoy. His self-titled Mega Ran albums, celebrating the iconic
video game series, as well as Forever Famicom and many other video game albums,
are tastefully done featuring beats crafted from the music of the very video
games they reference combined with expert lyricism that leads to an experience
that is genuine and infectious to anyone who's life is often defined by the
enjoyment found in video games.
Reader's
Annotation:
N/A
Author
Information:
N/A
Genre: Rap (Music), Hip Hop (Music)
Curriculum
Ties: Language
arts, literature
Booktalking
Ideas: N/A
Reading
Level/Interest Age:
14+
Challenge
Issues: N/A
Challenge
Defense: N/A
Reason
for Inclusion:
Mega Ran himself cares about the literary skills of teens after working as a
junior high language arts teacher when he saw the disinterest many inner city
teens had in reading. He always loved music so he decided to try to reach out
to them with his unique form of rap and hip hop that focused on classic video
games and also rap songs about books they had to read as required readings in
school. A lot of teens can enjoy his music and find it fun. Plus, it is also
rap music that doesn’t focus on the violence of ghetto life, sexually themes,
or even use bad language.
References: Feel free to sample some of
Random’s music at the following links:
Mega Ran 9
- http://megaranmusic.com/album/mega-ran-9
Buggin' (The Metamorphosis) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT0294HJSA8
Me & the Mouse - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf85pATn7Xc
Zombie High - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qulM_Ood6rA
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