Me Phi Me

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Me Phi Me
Background information
Origin	Flint, Michigan
Genre(s)	Alternative hip-hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper
Instrument(s)	Vocals (rapping)
Years active	1988 - present

Me Phi Me (born La-Ron K. Wilburn, December 8) is a multi-platinum selling rapper from Flint, Michigan. Me Phi Me is both the name of the musical group and the name of the lead performer.

Youngest of a family of five brothers and one sister, the Wilburn home was filled with diverse music. As a student in high school, La-Ron admired the lyrical virtuosity of hip-hop icons. The name, Me Phi Me, began in 1987 as an homage to the venerable Historically Black University Fraternities like Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi. It quickly evolved into a definition of intelligence and individuality as outlined in his song, "...and I Believe" which features traditional frat stomp/stepping as the backbeat.

[edit] Career

Known for "positive" rap and inspirational lyrics, Me Phi Me provided an acoustic alternative to the popular gangster sound of the early 1990's. His debut release, "ONE", from 1992 was produced by Chicago native and first cousin, Christopher Cuben-Tatum (aka Cee Tha Wizzard) on BMG/RCA Records and featured classic funk samples from Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown, and others layered with the unprecedented use of live 12-String folk guitars (performed by John M. Falasz III), live jazz bass, traditional frat stepping or stomp, harmonica solos (Rags Murtaugh), and other unique organic instruments including the haunting Armenian Dudek as performed by Djivan Gasparyan (Gladiator). One track from his CD, "Sad New Day" became a single with a video by three time director Julien Temple (who also shot Me Phi's videos for "Black Sunshine" and "Pu' Sho Hands 2Getha") that enjoyed significant Buzz Bin play on MTV and BET.^[1]

From Murfreesboro, Tennessee (southeast of Nashville), Me Phi Me saw many of the songs from ONE featured in international television synchronization, most notable being the opening and closing theme to Robert DeNiro's series on Fox called, Tribeca. In 1993, Me Phi Me's song "Revival!" was featured on the multi-platinum soundtrack to Ben Stiller's debut film about Generation X called Reality Bites.^[2] In 1995, Academy Award winning director, James Cameron chose Me Phi Me's song "hereWEcome" as the theme for Jeriko One, a character in the futuristic movie, Strange Days in which Me Phi makes his big screen debut alongside actor, Glenn Plummer.^[3]

Me Phi is married to Dominique with a step daughter, plus two biological daughters by former wife, Nannette. He actively assists his church choir in Baltimore when not consulting at a Fortune magazine top 20 corporation. Me Phi Me continues to write music and rhymes with plans for the release of previously unreleased songs in 2007.