[Rewind Review] MegaRan 9 – Random

In the internet age sometimes it is hard to stay on top of all the amazing things that come out, and sometimes you have to dig to uncover some of the lost treasures of that have been released. Due to this fact, I have decided to start another segment to our newly released music section of The Cultured Nerd, The Rewind Review. Much like reaching into your winter jacket and finding money you didn’t know you had, my hope is that this segment will help you find something new and amazing or remember a treasure long forgotten.

Back in 2009, Philly based under-ground rapper Random released a concept album titled Mega-Ran 9. With Capcom’s blessing Random took the music from Mega Man 9 plus a few other games and blended them with his lyrical style to create one of the best albums over to come out of the Nerdcore genre.

Of the many things that makes it stand out from some of the others in genre is the care and time that is taken in the production of the album. This is not just some guy rapping over the level music from the game, the music is a base that he layers tight simple beats and the right accents. On the track “Splash Women” just the simple add of a simple kick drum high hat and some keyboard creates a perfect backing that easily sweeps you away. “Unknowthename” uses samples from Street fighter perfectly, the amazing scratch work on “Run and Gun,” All of this points to how much time and care was put into the backing of this album. All of that work creates the perfect stage for Random’s lyrical prowess to shine.

Random MC work on this album is unstoppable. He kills track after track putting most mainstream rappers to shame providing the right mix of nerdy quotes and genius rhymes that on some tracks he spits a lighting speed. His calibrations with “Storyville” are perfectly crafted and they seamlessly shift from one MC to the other with out a pause.

I choose this album to review first because it is a must have for any Nerdcore fans collection. Each track is perfectly crafted; the right mixes of that classic video game feel but with enough hip-hop to appeal to mainstream fans. Pick it up and give it a listen I promise you will not be disappointed.

You can get the album here on their site.