Randy Mason is a NYC emcee and art educator from the Bronx who uses his passion for hip hop to help today’s youth find their voice and build community. As a father, husband, recording artist, author, educator and pastor, Ran draws from a deep well of unique and diverse experiences to tell stories through songs, engaging audiences of all kinds in a way that is real, relevant, meaningful and memorable. He began collaborating with Thrive in 2017, founded our hip hop mentoring program R.H.Y.M.E. (Rhymes Help young Minds Excel) in 2021, and became our first NYC Director in 2023.
Randy recognizes that hip hop gives students “mic skills and life skills.” They’re learning figurative language, improvisation, creative writing and thinking, and poetry, all while having fun. Students use the four elements of hip hop to discover their voice (emceeing), movement (break dancing), a community (DJing), and their name (graffiti).