Raheem Jarbo, aka Mega Ran, aka Random, has been making music and traveling the globe for the better part of two decades. He’s accomplished a lot in his career, most notably serving as one of the most successful artists in bringing together the worlds of indie rap and nerdcore. As you might imagine, he’s compiled a lot of stories over the years, whether they be from his childhood in Philly to his days as a teacher, or as an artist that got invited to play in places like the United Kingdom or Japan. The great news is that he’s now put all of those stories in one place. His memoir, Dream Master, takes you through his journey thus far.

The world of indie hip hop autobiographies is a fairly new terrain, with J-Zone’s Root for the Villian in 2011 and Dessa’s My Own Devices in 2018 leading the way for other artists to jump in. When the announcement came that Mega Ran had written a memoir, my initial reaction was, “Has he even been around long enough to have enough to fill a book?” Then, of course, I had to remind myself that he’s just been going non-stop for the last ten years, but all of these tours and albums and EPs and mixtapes have really added up at this point. So yes, it has been almost ten years since I first saw Mega Ran and K-Murdock perform together on a cold autumn night in Madison opening up for mc chris, and as you’ll soon find out if you read the book, the road to that night and beyond has been long and winding, with all sorts of ups and downs. Sometimes when an artist moves to a different lane, they just assume their skill set will transfer, but writing a book and writing some rhymes are two different things. The biggest difference is that in your rhymes you might make a reference or drop a few lines that communicate some main ideas, but when you’re filling two hundred-plus pages, you’re going to have to get comfortable with some vulnerability, because you’re going to have to go into some nitty gritty details and be honest about some ups and downs in your life. Fortunately, Ran steps up to the plate and not only finds a way to write in his own voice that will feel very familiar to his fans, but he really goes in and is honest about all sorts of different parts of his life. Some of them might be familiar, and you might have heard him tell a story or two at a show, or you might catch a reference and think, “Oh, right, he talks about that in that one song!” Some of the stories, though, will genuinely surprise you, especially moments from early in his life where Ran really opens up about some emotional moments that I’m sure weren’t easy to get on the page. Most importantly, though, Ran doesn’t sugar coat the fact that even when his music career began to take off a little over ten years ago, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for him. He goes into detail how the music industry is constantly shaky and unreliable, and how as a Black nerd that is genuinely friendly and optimistic, he is still learning how to navigate spaces that make assumptions about him based on race. That could be flat out ill-intent from cops or oblivious insensitivity from white fans or journalists or promoters, and everything in between. He’s experienced it all. Ran also makes it a point to highlight that he doesn’t always make the right decisions – this is a life lived by trial and error. If there’s any underlying message to the book, though, it is that you should always take a chance on yourself, and when you mess up or do something wrong, you should own it, learn the lesson, and then pick up the pieces and try again.

Dream Master: A Memoir is the hip hop book that all indie rap fans need to read to appreciate just what it means to live a life like Ran – the sacrifices made, the lessons learned, and just navigating a career with no specific blueprint. Hopefully, it will not only help fans feel closer to Mega Ran, but also inspire more empathy for indie artists across the board who sacrifice so much to bring all of us joy. And for the love of God, Los Angeles, let the man play one great show in your city.