So they were wondering where I′ve been all this time

And truthfully, I've been working

I′ve been trying to enjoy the fruits of my labor when I couldBut there wasn't a lot of time for that, so it was right back to work

We put out an album that changed the game, way back in 2011

And it took me around the world, quite frankly and literally

And it took me out of the classroom

I tell this story all the time but it was literally because of Black Materia going viral

I was able to quit my teaching job and start doing tours

Right after that, MC Chris called me to hop on the road, I was glad to do that

Next, touring with other folks doing more and more traveling and writing

And I knew, that I could never ever attempt to retouch

And regain and recapture the momentum and excitement of Black Materia ever again

So I didn't bother - we did a few remixes here and there

But it was not like we ever had to worry about an actual remake of this game happening

And then, it happened

Many years later, we saw announcements, we saw rumblings, we saw rumors

Then we saw screenshots, then we saw videos - and I knew that it was real

Because it was real, I knew, the question that I got asked every day

Would I be going back to the center of the earth?

Would we continue, would we remake, would we attempt to touch something

That I thought was so personal, so dope, and so important?

And I didn′t know if I could do it, honestly

Then, I knew that I had to try at least

We got together with some producers

Lost of course was there, brought in DN3, K-Murdock, Rifti, RoboRob, Kazu

So many talented folks who helped out

And then I went back to find all of the performers, all the rappers

All the singers that had helped me out with the first Black Materia

Some of them, quite frankly didn′t even make music anymore

They had gotten out of the game for various reasons

They have family, they had dealt with so many disappointments

And they didn't want to rejoin on the adventure for whatever reason, or they just couldn′t

And so, we had to get a whole new team

There's new performers, new characters

But I knew if I had to do this, then I absolutely had to make it bigger and better than before

So we went to bigger producers, bigger mixing

In the beginning, I mixed this album in my closet

I was in my apartment on some cracked software

Doing the most with the absolute least

And somehow, we made something special

And I knew, that if this was really going to happen, it had to be bigger and better than before

So DJ Cutman enters, agrees to do some mixing and mastering

We bring in live brass, all types of instrumentation

And finally, it got to the point where I knew this was going to be just as special, if not more

And then, we′re hit with the pandemic

I'm at a point now where, can′t get into the studio

Can't do anything, but yet the release date creeping up

One thing that's very important to me is dates

So I wanted this to come out on the date

On the anniversary of the original release - wasn′t able to do that

We hit so many snags and started to believe and think that this just wasn′t meant to be

Like maybe we just weren't gonna get it done

Because it had to be so perfect

But then I realized, this journey has been so far from perfect for me

It wasn′t the story I would have written, if I was in control of the pen

I come from humble beginnings in a small town

Well not a small town at all, a large city called Philadelphia

But in our part of town, uptown, it felt like a small town because everybody knew each other

And nobody really made it out

We didn't see any success in music like we saw in other parts of Philadelphia

So once I finally decided to do it, I had to do it my way

And I′m very excited and very happy about the way it turned out

But it wasn't perfect

It was no crystal stair as Langston Hughes put it

So I knew, that this journey couldn′t be perfect just because of the way

I had been built and the people who made this had been built

We've seen so much tragedy, so much loss along the way

That it just pushed me and fueled me even further to let me know that this absolutely had to be done

Because Final Fantasy VII is such an important part of my life

And I feel like it always will be

So fast forward, we're at Tokyo Game Show

And I get an invite of all invites

To go to Square Enix′s offices

Get to hang out, talk to people who created the game and are working on

The new game that′s about to change everything all over again

So amazing

Next, E3 comes around and they have a playable demo

And they invite me to come in as a special guest to come and play the demo

And it's unbelievable, absolutely gorgeous

Better than I could have ever expected

And I went back home, more motivated than ever

We gathered up the troops, and I listened to beats

We rewrote, restructured, repackaged

Added singers, took singers off

Added rappers, took rappers off

And created what you are finally listening to

Black Materia: The Remake

I have way too many people thank

But most importantly, I want to thank you, the listener

Because, I don′t know about you, but I've listened to this album approximately 1,000 times

But my goal and my only hope is that you, the listener, makes it through this recording one time

So if you′re able to do that, then I know that my 1,000 listens were worthwhile

So I just want to thank you for that, and continue to spread the word

And until that moment comes again when we are summoned from the ground like a beast

Stay safe, stay blessed, stay awesome, and keep on chasing what's important to you

Because I know I will

Haven′t found it yet, and I don't even know if I'll know it when I find it

But that′s just the carrot in front of me that keeps me going

And I wouldn′t have it any other way

So this is Mega Ran, I'm signing off of this very long outro

With the age-old ending of every hip hop record I ever listened to back in the day

When they would ask

Whatever happened to peace?

Peace