Well my rap name is Random because I like to come from different angles... new concepts, new styles. new beats, new flows... you never really know what do expect from Random.

It's a good change, because how else could a hip-hop head in South Dakota hear a raw fresh new sound coming from the Philly underground?

I'd have to say no. Quite honestly I'm not what they're looking for. plus I'm not with the practices of the majors and I'm not in a rush to make somebody else richer while I still struggle. I just want the music to get out there, untainted. But hey, if the RIGHT deal came along, I'm on it.

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An emcee since 1993, a producer since 2000, Random, aka Random Beats, aka Big Ran, is on a mission to restructure Hip-Hop.
My whole reason for rhyme is just to shed new light on a tired genre, and offer the listener a break from the traditional themes that have been played out for years.

My first love is MC'ing, but so many people come up to me for beats, so that's made me pay more attention to stepping up the production game. I'm about lyrics and new concepts.


ARTIST BIO.....
A 27-year old Philadelphia native, Random is a student of the culture. Raised by a single mother, a huge Motown and Philly International Records fan, Random�s love affair with music started with Marvin Gaye. �I think my first favorite song was �Mercy Mercy Me.� The passion in Marvin�s words always stood out to me.�
Years later, with the emergence of Hip-Hop culture in Philadelphia through artists such as Cool C, Steady B, Three Times Dope and others, Random�s musical tastes shifted from R&B to Hip-Hop. �I remember what drew me to Hip-Hop was the soul element of it; when I could recognize a loop or a vocal sample from a soul hit, I went crazy.�
As a teenager, Random�s influences were the legends; Rakim, Kool G Rap, KRS-ONE, Run DMC, Big Daddy Kane, EPMD, Ice Cube and Slick Rick, among others, but it was mainly the unsung and often unheralded artists that piqued his interest. �I have a lot of love for Chubb Rock. He was one of those artists who never switched up. He stayed true to himself. He was conscious and could still rock a party on the same track.� These artists got Random through his elementary and middle school years. But there was one emcee more than any that Random credits for most of his rhyming inspiration.
�One Day my cousin let me dub her LL Cool J tape, and I was hooked. I let my tape rock till my tape popped,� Random says jokingly. Random credits LL Cool J�s passion, swagger, versatility; and now longevity as the main reason of entering the hip-hop realm. �If I could have one-tenth the career L has, I�d be straight,� Ran says. Although the desire was there in 1989, Random never actually wrote his first rhyme until 1993.
�I remember that summer like it was yesterday. Jon The Baptist and Cost (his first rhyme partners) were on my step and we all decided to write a verse, just for the heck of it.� And so, the rest, as they say, is history.
�1993-94 was such a big time for hip hop- I call it the last golden age for the game. A lot of influential people dropped major albums around that time-- you had Nas, Big, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang, Snoop�I don�t ever remember that many classics coming out at once like that since maybe �88. I think I just got caught up in the moment and decided this was something that I had to be a part of.�
Random�s love for the game was evidenced in the following years. Without the money for studio time or expensive equipment, Random and The NET (Never Ending Talent) proceeded to record albums on handheld tape decks, karaoke machines, and later a 4-track analog recorders before landing a dream job as an in-house producer and engineer at Lab Addicts Studio in Philly in 2003, and dropping �The Random Demo Project.�
Along the way, Ran picked up a new hobby that developed into a new passion: Beat making. �It�s kinda cool, making beats,� Ran says. �There�s an unexplainable rush that overcomes me when other people want me to produce them. I think I�m more excited about their joints then they are. I used to just make beats for my own projects, and I never really expected to produce others. I just got tired of copping instrumental cd�s and looping other people�s beats together.�
Call Random a producer, an engineer, an emcee, but just don�t do it in that order. As he stated in a freestyle in 2002, �Don�t get it twisted, I been rappin� way before the beats/ CD burner, 4-track, put my music on the streets.� He says �No matter how much fun it is to make beats, my first love will always be emceeing.� His style can only be described as a strange hybrid of KRS�s thought process, Nas� vivid imagery, Redman�s sense of humor, and Big Daddy Kane�s venomous flow. You never really know what to expect from Random in terms of concepts, beats or lyrics. I guess that�s how he got his name.
Just one listen to some of the tracks on Demo Project let you know that this isn�t your average emcee. Ran definitely has something to say. And anyone who spends his days teaching Special Education and his nights writing rhymes has got to be coming from a unique perspective.
Now, 12 years, 10 independently distributed albums, and one Bachelor of Arts degree from Penn State University later; here stands what he believes to be the new and improved Random.
�The beats have stepped up, the rhymes have improved, but most importantly, the mind has grown. I feel like now I have a strong enough mind to take the game seriously. Like it says in the Bible, �When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.� For about the first 5 years of rapping, I was an infant. I honestly never really thought that I was ready to reach the masses. I just didn�t think the game wanted to hear another �conscious emcee.� But now, I�m ready.�
The question remains though, is the game ready?

Musically I've gotta say Marvin Gaye, Prince, Curtis Mayfield, Miles Davis....A lot of old school soul... Bob Marley, Classical Music (Beethoven, Bach, Mozart)... On the production side.... Dr. Dre, Premier, Kanye West, Just Blaze, Timbaland, DJ Hi-Tek, Jay Dee, The Alchemist..
On the artist side..... LL Cool J, Gangstarr, Mos Def, Kweli, KRS-ONE, Common, De La Soul, Eminem, Jay-Z, Nas, Masta Ace (you owe it to yourself to pick up 'Disposable Arts' and 'The Long Hot Summer!'), Ludacris, Redman, Canibus...Basically anybody who puts some thought behind their lyrics.

Philly!! I also have a lotta love for Maryland, VA... and the Dirty South...I'm out west now, so I gotta say Phoenix, Cali..what up?

I work with a lot of different programs...basically whatever I can get my hands on...Reason 2.5-3.0, Cakewalk, Fruity Loops, MPC2000XL...and a few secret ones that you'll have to guess on.

The Mega Ran Tour is underway. visit www.randomsblogs.blogspot.com for updates.