Raheem Jarbo (born September 3, 1977), also known by his stage names Mega Ran and Random, is an American

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...

nerdcore Nerdcore is a genre of hip hop music characterized by subject matter considered of interest to nerds and geeks. Self-described nerdcore musician MC Frontalot has the earliest known recorded use of the term (to describe this genre) in the 2000 ...

rapper,

chiptune Chiptune, also known as chip music or 8-bit music, is a style of synthesized electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video game consoles. The t ...

DJ, and record producer. In February 2015, he changed his stage name to Mega Ran, removing Random from any releases.

Early life

Jarbo was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, to an American-born mother and African-born father. He has stated in interviews that he wrote his first song in 1993 and began producing in 2000. After college, Jarbo landed a job as an engineer in a Philadelphia studio, and recorded his first demo which caught the ear of Philadelphia emcee Ohene Savant, who had created a label as a home for creative hip-hop music. Jarbo resided in Philadelphia until a 2006 move to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

Education

Jarbo graduated from Martin Luther King High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and holds a bachelor's degree from

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

. He has worked full-time as a

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

teacher in Philadelphia, then as a middle school teacher in

. Jarbo maintained both a music and teaching career until 2011, when he retired from teaching to focus on music full-time. Jarbo's albums are currently being utilized in coursework at Penn State University and University of Michigan, among others.

Music

Jarbo released his debut album ''The Call'' in 2006, but is noted for releasing an album called ''Mega Ran'', a tribute to the ''

Mega Man ''Mega Man'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of robot characters each known by the moniker "Mega Man (character), Mega Man". Mega Man (video game), The original game w ...

'' video game series in 2007. This album landed Jarbo a licensing agreement with video game distributor

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

and an opportunity to perform at the

booth at

Comic-Con A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book Fan (person), fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. This album gained Jarbo a fan base within the nerdcore genre, as well as press coverage by ''

Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninten ...

'',

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

Okayplayer Okayplayer is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by ''Rolling Stone'' as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The community was founded by The Roots' drummer ...

, ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'', ''Exclaim'', and ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen appliance, kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsion, emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender ...

'' among others. In 2009, Jarbo released a second Mega Man-based album, ''Mega Ran 9'', based on the

PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...

WiiWare WiiWare was a service that allowed Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii S ...

and

Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...

video game ''

Mega Man 9 ''Mega Man 9'' is a 2008 Action game, action-Platform game, platform video game developed by Capcom and Inti Creates. It is the ninth numbered game in the Mega Man (original series), original ''Mega Man'' series (Or tenth game overall when inclu ...

''. The album was released with the blessing of Capcom. In 2010, Jarbo collaborated with producer K-Murdock of progressive hip-hop group

Panacea In Greek mythology, Panacea (Greek ''Πανάκεια'', Panakeia), a goddess of universal remedy, was the daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Panacea and her four sisters each performed a facet of Apollo's art: * Panacea (the goddess of universal ...

and released ''Forever Famicom'', an album containing samples from video games from various publishers on the

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

and

Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...

consoles. In 2011, Jarbo created and released Black Materia, an album completely based on the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

and PC game

Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation console. It is the seventh main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Published in Japan by Square, it was released in other regions by Sony Computer Entertai ...

. In 2012, Jarbo released a remixed version of Black Materia entitled ''Black Materia: The Remixes.'' In March, he launched a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign to release the three-part album, comic book and video game for ''Mega Ran in Language Arts''. The goal was achieved, and ''Volume One'' was released in May, ''Volume Two'' in August, and ''Volume Three'' in November. In 2013, Jarbo announced he would release one EP per month, titled ''Time and Space''. January, February and March's EP releases were exclusively launched on video game website

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. History ' ...

. It was also at this time that Jarbo began referring to his style of music as "Chip-Hop". In 2013, Jarbo collaborated with New Jersey rapper Mister Wilson and released Blur Bomber, an adaptation of the

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Mega Man ''Mega Man'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of robot characters each known by the moniker "Mega Man (character), Mega Man". Mega Man (video game), The original game w ...

and

Sonic Sonic or Sonics may refer to: Companies *Sonic Drive-In, an American drive-in fast-food restaurant chain *Sonic (ISP), an Internet provider and CLEC, serving more than 100 California communities *Sonic Foundry, a computer software company whic ...

cross-over in Worlds Collide. In 2013, Jarbo released "Castelvania: Nocturnal Cantata", a Hip-Hop opera, retelling the story of the classic game "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night". The album cast Jarbo as Alucard,

Sammus Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo (born March 20, 1986), known as Sammus, often stylized as SΔMMUS, is an American underground rapper, former teacher, and record producer. Early life Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo was born in Rhinebeck, NY to an Ivorian mothe ...

as Maria Renard and The Ranger as Richter Belmont. In 2015, Jarbo released his latest album "Soul Veggies" which was his most commercially successful album to date. Mega Ran also toured with Bag of Tricks Cat for the Emerald Knights Tour which included a trip to various UK cities. In Fall of 2015, Jarbo released ''RNDM'', which debuted on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Top 200 chart. In Summer of 2018, Jarbo released "Emerald Knights 2", which debuted on the ''

'' Top 200 chart.

Video games

In 2009, Jarbo teamed with Capcom to feature on a hip-hop alternate soundtrack to the hit title '' Marvel vs. Capcom 2''. Jarbo appears on a song entitled "The Remainder Is One". The album is downloadable on

and at

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

' website. In 2010 and 2011, Jarbo's music was covered in video game publications '' Game Developer'' and ''

''. Jarbo's album based on the game ''

'' was featured, and was included in the June 2011 issue of ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...

'' and '' PlayStation: The Official Magazine''. In 2012, Jarbo and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-based developers Lunar Giant Studios released the first installment of the Mega Ran video game, loosely based on the album ''Mega Ran in Language Arts''. In April 2013, Jarbo lent guest vocals to a track on the soundtrack of the award-winning video game '' Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine'' called "Welcome to Monaco. In September 2013, Jarbo and K-Murdock performed at the first ever ''

Halo 4 ''Halo 4'' is a 2012 first-person shooter video game developed by 343 Industries and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360 video game console. ''Halo 4''s story follows a cybernetically enhanced human supersoldier, Master Chief, and ...

'' Global Championships in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. The event was broadcast on

Xbox Live The Xbox network, formerly and still sometimes branded as Xbox Live, is an Internet, online multiplayer video game, multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox ...

and online. In June 2015, Jarbo announced via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

that he had been chosen to perform the ending credits theme for the game ''

Mighty No. 9 ''Mighty No. 9'' is a 2016 action platform video game developed by Comcept, in conjunction with Inti Creates, and published by Deep Silver. The game was crowdfunded through Kickstarter and incorporated heavy input from the public. ''Mighty No. ...

''. his track will appear on his forthcoming album "RNDM" as well. In 2016, Jarbo published ''Tales of the Elements'' on

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

through his label RandomBeats Music. The game was developed by Last Benevolence. Jarbo is one of the main characters and is also playable. The game was released with an album of the same name that followed the storyline. ''Tales of the Elements – 2nd Chapter'' was released in 2018 and once again featured Jarbo as one of the main characters.

Film and television

Jarbo's song "Grow Up" from the ''Mega Ran'' album plays during the end credits of Second Skin, an independent film which debuted at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

Film Festival in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, in 2008. In 2010, Jarbo's song "Splash Woman" played on episodes of '' TNA IMPACT!'' and on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

special "The Ten Most Fascinating People in America" hosted by

Barbara Walters Barbara Jill Walters (born September 25, 1929) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, Walters appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including ...

. It has also been featured in the "Aimee" episode of IFC's ''

Portlandia ''Portlandia'' is an American sketch comedy television series starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, set in and around Portland, Oregon, and spoofing the city's reputation as a haven for eccentric hipsters. The show was produced by Broa ...

'' and

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

's ''

Tosh.0 ''Tosh.0'' ( ) is an American television series that aired on Comedy Central from June 4, 2009, to November 24, 2020. The series is hosted and produced by comedian Daniel Tosh, who provides satirical commentary on online viral video clips, inter ...

''. Jarbo hosted a weekly hip-hop reality show on his

channel called "Life After Lesson Plans". In the final episode he details leaving teaching for music full-time to tour with

mc chris Christopher Brendan Ward IV, better known by the stage name mc chris (stylized in all lower case), is an American rapper, voice actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for his high-pitched voice and for combining his "geek" background with the ...

. In February 2012, Jarbo recorded and released a song called "Mega Ran's Jeremy Lin Rap", dedicated to the rise to fame of

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player

Jeremy Lin Jeremy Shu-How Lin (born August 23, 1988) is a Taiwanese-American professional basketball player who last played for the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He unexpectedly led a winning turnaround with the Ne ...

. The song received 500,000 hits on

, and appeared on the

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

show ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...

''. In August 2014, Glasswork Media released a documentary titled Mega-Lo-Mania chronicling a recent tour by Jarbo. Filmmaker Michael Cardoza traveled alongside Jarbo and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

band The Lo-Classics through three cities to film the documentary. In July 2017, Jarbo appeared on

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

television as part of a segment on

WWE SmackDown Live ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

. He was an extra in a rap battle skit hosted by rapper Wale. In 2019. he appeared on the ROH/

NJPW (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares o ...

pro-wrestling event:

G1 Supercard G1 Supercard was a professional wrestling supershow co-produced by the American Ring of Honor (ROH) and Japanese New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotions. It was the 13th annual Supercard of Honor event and took place on April 6, 2019, at Madis ...

, trying to perform his song "Going To the Garden", the official theme song of the event; and having a confrontation against

Bully Ray Mark LoMonaco (born July 14, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and Impact Wrestling under the ring name Bully Ray. He was previously known as one-half of The Dudley Boyz tag tea ...

after that. The song was produced by up and coming New Jersey music producer: iLL-Omega.

Performances

Jarbo has toured the U.S. as headliner and as support for

MC Chris Christopher Brendan Ward IV, better known by the stage name mc chris (stylized in all lower case), is an American rapper, voice actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for his high-pitched voice and for combining his "geek" background with the ...

MC Lars Andrew Robert Nielsen (born October 6, 1982), known professionally as MC Lars, is an American record producer, rapper, cartoonist, podcaster and educator. Lars is one of the self-proclaimed originators of "lit-hop", and is the founder and CEO of ...

Louis Logic Louis Dorley, better known as Louis Logic, is a Brooklyn, New York-based underground hip-hop emcee. He has released three full-length studio albums as a solo artist and one album as The Odd Couple with Jay Love, and is a former member of the D ...

Homeboy Sandman Angel Del Villar II (born September 24, 1980), better known by his stage name Homeboy Sandman, is an American rapper from Elmhurst, Queens, New York, United States. Career Homeboy Sandman recorded and released his first EP, ''Nourishment'', in M ...

Open Mike Eagle Michael W. Eagle II (born November 14, 1980), better known by his stage name Open Mike Eagle, is an American hip hop artist and comedian. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, he is now based in Los Angeles, California, where he is a member of the h ...

, and others. He has performed at the

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

Music Festival in 2008–2017, the

Nerdapalooza Nerdapalooza was an annual nerd music and arts festival in Orlando, Florida, United States, the first of its kind to invite all genres of the nerd music movement under one roof, including geek rock, nerdcore, chiptune, and video game music. The ...

festival in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, and San Diego Comic-Con 2011–2015. He embarked upon his first European tour in July 2011, and in December 2011, provided support on the More B.A.R.K. Less Bitin' Tour of Japan with DJ Asu Rock, K-Murdock, and jazz-hop artists Substantial and Marcus D. Jarbo returned to Japan after a successful

campaign. Jarbo performed at the

Penny Arcade Expo PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston and Philadelphia in the United States; and Melbourne in Australia. PAX w ...

(PAX) in 2013. He also performed at the east coast's music and gaming festival,

MAGfest MAGFest (Music and Gaming Festival, originally the Mid-Atlantic Gaming Festival) is an annual festival held in the Washington metropolitan area that celebrates video games and video game music, as well as their surrounding culture. MAGFest's pri ...

, in 2014, 2016, and 2022.

Personal life

Jarbo lives in

with his wife whom he proposed to at MAGfest in 2017. In 2021 he released a memoir entitled ''Dream Master''.

Early life

Education

Music

Video games

Film and television

Performances

Personal life

Discography

Solo albums

Collaborative projects

EPs

Mixtapes and limited releases

Guest appearances

Bibliography

References

External links