Phoenix MC Random Juggles Teaching, Rapping, and Superhero-Dom

Eventually, Mega Man manufacturer Capcom got wind of the Mega Ran project. But to Jarbo's surprise, the cease-and-desist letter he was expecting never materialized. Instead, the company gave Jarbo its blessing, inviting him to perform at the San Diego Comic-Con International, the largest annual comic book convention in the U.S. and a virtual mecca of nerdkind. Jarbo's partnership with Capcom also led to a sequel album, Mega Ran 9, which was released earlier this year as a tie-in to the downloadable game of the same name.

Due to the success of Mega Ran, Jarbo has decided to continue his efforts at bridging the nerdcore/hip-hop gap, alternating between video game-themed albums and standard hip-hop fare, all while holding down a full-time teaching job. So does Jarbo consider himself a teacher who raps or a rapper who teaches? The mixtape's title, as it turns out, is anything but random.

James Johnson

Random: Teacher, rapper, superhero.

Details

Random is scheduled to perform on Saturday, October 31, at the Hilton Phoenix East in Mesa and on Thursday, November 5, at Club Red in Tempe.

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More About

• Raheem Jarbo
• Phoenix (Arizona)
• Omega Academy
• Blackalicious
• Hip-Hop and Rap

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"I think I'm just a teacher, so I would say I'm a teacher who raps. I give them both so much of my time, and they're both so similar that they kind of run together. There's teachable moments on the mic as well as in the classroom. They're both almost identical in that you're getting up in front of a crowd of people and you're trying to convince them to believe in you, whether it's 25 teenagers that you're trying to convince to believe in you or 25 skeptical fans. So it's the same thing. You get onstage, you're being examined, you're being judged at all times, and you're trying to make them believe in you. So they run parallel."