Dabe Alan
Audio By Carbonatix
Phoenix’s Mega Ran has stacked numerous accolades in his lengthy rap career, including a Guinness World Record. On Friday, the local nerdcore star scored his biggest honor yet. Mega Ran earned a 2026 Grammy nomination for Best Children’s Music Album for his release “Buddy’s Magic Tree House.”
Cue up the victory theme from “Mega Man.”
The self-described “Teacher, Rapper, Hero, DJ, Author (and) Father” will face some serious competition. Other albums nominated in the category include Tori Amos’ “The Music of Tori and the Muses,” Flor Bromley’s “Herstory” and FYÜTCH and Aura V’s “Harmony.”
Mega Ran, whose real name is Raheem Jarbo, was ecstatic about the nod. “This is absolutely unbelievable,” he wrote on Instagram on Sunday. “Almost 20 years of making music. Countless verses, van rides, lesson plans, late rent payments, conventions and crowds in the single digits … And now… a GRAMMY nomination. I’m honestly floored.”
Will you step up to support New Times this year?
We’re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If New Times matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.
Chas Wright
The 2026 Grammy Award ceremony will be held on February 1, 2026 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Mega Ran, whose real name is Raheem Jarbo, was ecstatic about the nod. “This is absolutely unbelievable,” he wrote on Instagram on Sunday. “Almost 20 years of making music. Countless verses, van rides, lesson plans, late rent payments, conventions and crowds in the single digits … And now… a GRAMMY nomination. I’m honestly floored.”
“Buddy’s Magic Tree House” dropped in June. The 14-track release was the follow-up to Mega Ran’s 2023 kids project, “Buddy’s Magic Toy Box.”
Both albums were inspired by the rapper’s adopted son and featured his nickname, Buddy. Mega Ran told Phoenix New Times earlier this year that the projects were a departure from the nerdcore that’s defined his rap career over the past 18 years.
In the albums, the rapper largely eschewed beats and lyrics inspired by geeky subject matter that made him famous. Instead, he crafted joyful tracks about bullies, friendship and even brushing your teeth.
“Yeah, my kid hates brushing his teeth. He absolutely fights me every day, until I put that tune on,” the rapper told New Times in June. “It helps a little, honestly. It makes about half of that two-minute experience easier.”
Both albums were filled with playful rhymes, bouncy beats and big imagination with plenty of what we described as humor, heart and life lessons.
Mega Ran paid tribute to his son, wife and others in his Instagram post about the Grammy nomination.
“Thankful beyond words for every listener, supporter, student, and friend who’s been part of this wild journey,” he wrote. “My amazing wife, who said ‘let’s do this’ when I had a wild idea of us taking foster parenting classes. My Buddy, who inspires me every day. My engineers, producers and guest musicians who said ‘let’s do this’ when I wanted to take a wild turn creatively. I’ll forever be grateful.”
