Random made big news last year with his critically acclaimed album “The Call,” which was voted among the top ten underground hip-hop albums of 2006. Shortly after a move from his hometown of Philadelphia to Phoenix, Arizona, Random followed the example of several hip-hop heavyweights this year by releasing an album for free download to his fans. That album, “Mega Ran,” is based on the Mega Man video game, and successfully gives the characters individual voices and a spoken agenda – a perspective of the classic video game never attempted before.

The self-proclaimed “Bruce Wayne of hip-hop” is a mild-mannered school teacher by day, and a “bad-guy slaying emcee” by night whose lyrics transcend boundaries to reflect the pursuits, accomplishments and struggles of the common man.  

On break from his teaching job for the summer, we had a chance to ask Random a couple questions recently, and here’s what he had to say:

What is your personal definition of hip-hop?

Hip-hop to me is self expression. The way you talk, the way you dress, the way you live, what you’ve been through, and how you choose to express yourself shows in these ways.

If you had to pick your top 5 MCs of all time, who would they be?

This is tough, but in no order, I’d say KRS One, Nas, Rakim, Ice Cube and LL Cool J/2Pac. I take into account skill, impact, risk taking and consistency.

Your new album is titled “Mega Ran,” and follows the plot and music of the Mega Man video game. What provoked you to create this album? How long did it take to put together, and what was involved?

The ‘Mega Ran’ album was pretty much just for fun. It came to my attention that 2007 marked the 20 year anniversary of the birth of the franchise, and I was a huge fan of the game. I started to make one song sampling Mega Man music, but I couldn’t decide which track to sample, so I decided to do a whole project. It took me about 2 months to complete, the hardest part was sampling the tracks and finding the right tempos to work with.

It was the first project where I’d done most of the production, and the producers I worked with (DN3, Domingo, Samik), were so supportive of it when I told them about it, they were happy to help. Its kinda taken on a life of its own, so I’m pretty happy about that. Me being an artist, I want to be able to be free to express myself creatively without boundaries, so this is what ‘Mega Ran’ was to me. I was a little tired of the typical hip-hop song and album format, so I wanted to do something different…something Random.

Even moreso, much of “Mega Ran” seems to actually put the MC Random in the shoes of Mega Man and attempt to rhyme from the character’s perspective. How do you put yourself in the shoes of a fictional character, and then how do you create lyrics from his perspective?

Well, I played the games a lot…I mean a LOT, but in them, Mega Man never talked. We never knew his feelings, or if he even had feelings. So, I decided to combine him and myself and see what would come of it. I studied language a lot in high school and college, so I learned elements of poetry that I was able to utilize in the ‘Mega Ran’ project to place myself into the shoes of the Blue Bomber. It was like an exercise project; it allowed me to stretch some muscles that I hadn’t used in a long time.

“Mega Ran” was initially available for free, and was downloaded over 700 times. Why offer an album that you put so much time into for free? Why is it important to just give something like that to the hip-hop community? Do you feel that your decision to do this will pay off for you in any way?

Absolutely. I don’t regret it, and I’d do it again. Its just the nature of the game right now. There have been some spectacular releases over the past year, and many of them have been free download projects, like Talib and Madlib’s ‘Liberation.’ I wanted to give something back to the fans who have, like me, been burned by bad releases in the past. Nowadays, people look at illegal downloading as a ‘try before you buy’ system, and get so comfortable that even if it is dope, they don’t buy it. So I gave the fans a legal way to get it, well 80% of the album, hoping that if they liked it, they’d buy it to hear the rest.

And so far, so good, I’ve heard nothing but positivity. It’s important to hip-hop because I think the people need something to restore their faith in the genre. Everyone’s making mixtapes. I don’t make hot singles, I make coherent projects. Fans of my last project ‘The Call’ might really think I’ve lost my mind with this one, and I just might’ve. But among the people who got a hold of it were folks at Capcom, who liked the project enough to invite me to perform at their booth at Comic-Con this year in San Diego (July 28, 2:30pm).

Since your last release, “The Call,” which was one of the best underground releases of ‘06 by the way, you moved from Philly to Phoenix. Why the move? How has it affected your life and your music? Do you find it difficult to recreate a fan base and find shows in a new city? And most importantly, Sixers or Suns?

I moved to pursue a new teaching job, with some better benefits. Also I moved so that the music could grow. I may have what Larry Brown (NBA Coach) has: the need to keep searching out that next challenge. I’m like Ryu at the end of Street Fighter 2; he won the tournament and didn’t even stick around for the ceremony. I felt a little stagnant in Philly. I’ve gotten a lot of love and respect there and made lasting relationships and connections. My heart will always be there, I just think we needed some time apart to respect each other more. The scene takes you for granted if you’re a regular. Now when I come to town its a big deal. I thought a change of scenery would help me to become a better artist, and a better teacher, and so far, so good. ‘Mega Ran’ might have never come about had I not left.

I had a rough time out here at first. I mean, I went from a fairly well known guy to just another joe overnight. It forced me to humble myself and put things in perspective. It really showed me just how large the world is. This side of the country hadn’t heard of me, the guest artists on my CD, or the folks who had praised my music, so all of that meant nothing. So I had to grind from the bottom all over again, doing shows when I could, running my mouth and making moves. Now I can say that I’ve performed in the largest underground hip-hop venues in Phoenix and in Philly, and have established my first multi-city tour doing the east and west coasts.

Oh, and I haven’t been a Sixer fan since they traded Charles Barkley…ironically to the Suns. Go Eagles!!

You are a school teacher by day. What grade do you teach? Do the kids know you’re an MC? How do you use hip-hop as a way to connect with the kids? And did your job as a teacher play any role in the creation of “Mega Ran”?

I teach 7th graders, and I love my kids to death. I told them I was an MC, and even performed at the school dance. They think it’s pretty cool, and I can usually succeed in bribing them with my CDs (laughs), but Hip-Hop is so huge, I bring it into the classroom as much as I can. We made up a rap about money, and we’re working on one about history. They love it.

No, it didn’t play a role in the album’s creation, because they’ve never heard of Mega Man! Before I made ‘The Call,’ I made a fun project called ‘Fundamentals,’ and that was because I like to alternate between serious and less serious themes, that way I have an album that can relate to whatever mood you’re in at the time.

I understand you recently went on a fast. Why? How long did you fast? How do you feel it helped you?

The fast was in order to help me to clear my head about many decisions about my future, with teaching, emceeing, being in Phoenix, everything. I fasted a week, and it went well. It was tough, I missed eggs more than anything. It did help to clear my head, and what I learned was to let go, and let God. I can’t do everything, but I can do something.

You’re a rapper, producer, blogger, teacher. Why is it important to do so many different things and market yourself in so many different ways? What plans do you have to expand this into the future?

My mom always tells me that I do too much, and that might be true. I just feel like while I’m young and I have the energy, I may as well work hard. I don’t think of it as marketing; this isn’t a gimmick, this wasn’t made in a boardroom meeting. This is me, being the best me I can be. “I’m just a regular cat, with an irregular rap, that’s just tryin to stay ahead of the pack/ somebody told me when the CD stops, they forgot you/ so I drop something new weekly if I got to.”

Well, I’ve been speaking to some websites about me doing some blogging for them, that sounds interesting. I want to get a production team together at some point. I have a few surprises in the works, but trust, you’ll be seeing a lot of Random and RAHM Nation in the future…

Are you working on anything new? Where do you see your music headed next?

Right now I’m not working on anything, just some collabs and beats for folks. I honestly have no idea where Random’s music is headed. I could wake up tomorrow and want to do a reggae album…I really don’t know. But if I did, would it really be Random?

Aside from being a rapper, what are your interests? Do you have a family? Hobbies?

Technology is my main interest. I love gadgets. No sisters, no brothers, no kids, just my beats and rhymes.

If hip-hop was a person, and you could ask him or her one question, what would it be?

I’d slide her a little note that said ‘Do you like me?’ ‘Circle yes or no.’ Every emcee should have to send her that note…and if she says no, you have to quit rapping.