Now that’s 2016’s winding down, it’s naturally time to begin thinking about “Best Of” live acts of the year. With thousands of international and local fests and shows to pick from, the competition’s fierce. One of this year’s best live artists making #CarlitasCut is Phoenix’s Mega Ran. Seeing him perform live at Boise’s Treefort Fest earlier this year, he commanded the attention of the whole room as everyone crowded in the middle to watch him expertly freestyle about the oddest items taken from audience members’ pockets. Between appearing at Comic-Cons, consistently hitting the road with artists like MC Lars and Sadistik, Mega Ran’s also found the time to release multiple podcasts and projects including ‘Mat Mania: The Album’ which features a collabo with Murs.

Not familiar with nerdcore before attending the fest, Mega Ran’s talent opened up a new world to a dope underground community. Earlier this year, I chatted with Mega at Treefort about an assortment of topics- his childhood in Philly (where he once aspired to be a dentist), his missed connection with The Roots’ Black Thought, making hip-hop history, A Tribe Called Quest influences and of course, his fav video games. Peep the soundclips below and get tix to see Mega Ran on tour throughout the rest of the year HERE!