Me Phi Me facts for kids

Laron Wilbur, known professionally as Me Phi Me, is an American rapper from Flint, Michigan. The name Me Phi Me refers to both his musical group and himself as the lead performer.

Laron grew up in a home filled with many different types of music. He was the youngest of five brothers and one sister. When he was in high school, he admired the skillful lyrics of famous hip-hop artists. The name Me Phi Me was created in 1987. It was a tribute to respected Black fraternities like Alpha Phi Alpha. The name quickly came to mean intelligence and being an individual. This idea was explained in his song "...and I Believe," which uses traditional fraternity stepping as its beat.

Me Phi Me's Music Journey

Me Phi Me is known for his rap songs and traditional lyrics. In the early 1990s, he offered an acoustic (unplugged) style of music. This was different from the popular gangster rap sound of that time.

First Album: ONE

His first album, ONE, came out in 1992. It was produced by his cousin, Christopher Cuben-Tatum. The album used classic funk music samples from artists like Sly and the Family Stone and James Brown. It also featured new sounds like live twelve-string folk guitars and jazz bass. The album included traditional fraternity stepping, harmonica solos, and unique instruments. One special instrument was the Armenian Duduk, played by Djivan Gasparyan.

A song from the ONE album, "Sad New Day," was released as a single. It reached number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in September 1992. The music video for "Sad New Day" was directed by Julien Temple. He also directed Me Phi Me's videos for "Black Sunshine" and "Pu' Sho Hands 2Getha." These videos were played often on MTV and BET.

Music in TV and Movies

Many songs from the ONE album were used in international television shows. A notable example was the opening and closing theme for Robert De Niro's 1993 TV drama series TriBeCa on Fox.

In 1993, Me Phi Me's song "Revival!" was part of the very popular soundtrack for Ben Stiller's first movie, Reality Bites. This film was about young people from Generation X. In 1995, director Kathryn Bigelow chose Me Phi Me's song "hereWEcome" as the theme for a character named Jeriko One. This was for the futuristic movie Strange Days. Me Phi Me also appeared in this movie alongside actor Glenn Plummer.

Life Today

Me Phi Me is married and has a stepdaughter named Gabrielle. He also has two biological daughters, Autumn and Imani, from his previous marriage. He helps out with his church choir in Baltimore, Maryland. When he is not working as a consultant for a major company, he continues to write music and rhymes. He plans to release songs that have not been heard before.