10 years ago, when someone labeled a rapper, part of nerdcore, it was always more a prison sentence than genre clarification. It meant that person's repertoire was undoubtedly niche and nerd-centric, which came with the punishment being locked in a narrow field of fans and income, for some impossible to ever evolve and leave.
MegaRan came to power during these chaotic times, where being an artist in digital format was a nightmare of third party websites and makeshift business plans, writing lines for classics like his namesake and Final Fantasy. Profit-crop musical bread and butter for alot, if not all the emerging scene of nerdcore rap and music in the 90's and early 2000's.
But at some point the scene shifted.
Similar to traditional art reaching a point where styles stopped becoming regular new inventions but rather a constant mixing together of ideas and approaches into the birth of Modern Art. Nerdcore stopped being defined by the need for sprite-based longform or musical retro novella's. It became an extension of who the person was and who they became, growing up within this nerd world as a part of who they are.
For most, it meant the need to evolve, to try different forms and venues of creation, different aspects of culture and life was required to create works more universally relatable. Success was variable; Some rappers grew, others faltered. Many dissapeared with nothing but a soundcloud and a stretched-out t-shirt ever proving they existed in the first placed.
And I want to make one thing very clear; There are one thousand rap shows occuring every nanosecond during human consciousness, but there is only one show at any given moment where MegaRan is performing, and thats important. Because there ain't no show like a MegaRan show.
When the big man wades into the crowd to start freestylin' off all the random junk fans are thrusting into the air with no flaw, no stutter, all confidence, it elevates a show to worth my damn time. Engulfing his lines between a sea of funky, jazzy backbeats and good-vibing samples, the energy builds up and up, sticking to a steady rhythm that always manages to stands up on its feet, unable to stumble over itself.
"Old Enough" is the perfect example of kicking past the nerd-limited mindset of early times, going straight back through his past, pointing out every flaw to 80's snyth pulled up to this warm, fuzzy feel. Bliss of Solitude forms this world where hundreds live, alone. Taking care to not undo the words with swagger or fuck with anything needed, minimalist melody letting the meaning show. He holds onto the stage with his size 22 treads and does what he can to pull smiles on fans, keeping the crowd on a high that only ends when he decides it. He runs a stage with purpose and power and the experience coming with 10+ years of hustling between Philly, NYC and Japan.
There's a simplistic ingenuity MegaRAn takes with pushing ideas through his songs and a confidence that hides the constant gnawing fear and aniexty of self-publishing and self-running a business that holds his career in its hands; dealing with a flippant fanbase always after new trends and the crushing lonilness vindicative of a life-long career built out of a home studio upwards.
MegaRan is a veteran that, at the moment, has broken through the hardest challenge of being relevant; showcasing to enough people that inhabit this world that a person can tell more tales than a single game.
In a nerd society that now wants way more that Megaman, he's show that he's still worth listening to, and he's done it all by simply being MegaRan.
Be sure to check out the latest from MegaRan.
And let me know your fav hits here, give me a shout out about who you think needs more love, 'll check them out!
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