{{short description|American rapper}} {{Infobox musical artist |name = Me Phi Me |background = solo_singer |origin = Flint, Michigan |birth_name = Laron Wilbur<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kot |first1=Greg |title=Stretching boundaries |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-laron-wilbur/177606491/ |work=Chicago Tribune |date=July 26, 1992}}</ref> |birth_date = |birth_place = |instrument = Vocals (rapping) |genre = Alternative hip hop |occupation = Rapper |years_active = 1988—present |label = }}
'''Laron Wilbur''' (known professionally as '''Me Phi Me''')<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Bernstein |first1=Jonathan |title=Hip Hop Un-Plugged |magazine=Spin Magazine |date=June 1992 |volume=8 |issue=3 |page=23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kYhJL9bSu1YC&pg=PT23}}</ref> is an American rapper from Flint, Michigan. Me Phi Me is both the name of the musical group and the name of its lead performer.
Wilburn was the youngest of five brothers and one sister raised in a home filled with diverse music. As a student in high school, he admired the lyrical virtuosity of hip-hop icons. The name Me Phi Me was born in 1987 as an homage to venerable historically black fraternities like Alpha Phi Alpha and 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.
==Career== Known for rap as well as traditional lyrics, Me Phi Me provided an acoustic alternative to the popular gangster sound of the early 1990s.
His 1992 debut release ''ONE'' was produced by Chicago native and first cousin Christopher Cuben-Tatum (a.k.a. Cee Tha Wizzard) of Concept Enterprises International<ref>{{cite web |title=The history of Concept Enterprises International |url=http://www.cei.cc/intro.html |website=Concept Enterprises International |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050211154347/http://www.cei.cc/intro.html |archive-date=February 11, 2005 |url-status=usurped}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=July 2025}} 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 twelve-string folk guitars, performed by John M. Falasz III, live jazz bass, traditional frat stepping or stomp, harmonica solos (Rags Murtagh aka Rags Murtaugh), and other unique organic instruments, including the haunting Armenian Duduk as performed by Djivan Gasparyan (Gladiator).
A track from the ''ONE'' CD, "Sad New Day," was released as a single, peaking at #83 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in September 1992.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1992-09-12|title = The Hot 100 Chart| magazine=Billboard }}</ref> The video was directed by Julien Temple, who also shot Me Phi's videos for "Black Sunshine" and "Pu' Sho Hands 2Getha," which enjoyed significant Buzz Bin play on MTV and BET.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McCoin |first1=Micah |title=Me Phi Me presents unique message through rap |url=http://www.cei.cc/me_phi_me/press_Emory_Wheel_930122_Me_Phi_Me.htm |publisher=The Emory Wheel |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070916230206/http://www.cei.cc/me_phi_me/press_Emory_Wheel_930122_Me_Phi_Me.htm |archive-date=September 16, 2007 |date=January 22, 1993 |url-status=usurped |via=Concept Enterprises International }}</ref>
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 for Robert De Niro's 1993 ''TriBeCa'' television drama anthology series on Fox.<ref name="Keep it going">{{cite web |url= http://www.tv.com/tribeca/show/1932/summary.html?q=&tag=search_results;more;1 |title= Tribeca (summary). |work= TV.com |quote= The theme song "Keep It Going," which sampled James Brown's voice, was performed by hip-hop artist Me Phi Me.}} {{dead link|date=July 2025}}</ref>
In 1993, Me Phi Me's song "Revival!" was featured on the multiplatinum soundtrack to Ben Stiller's debut film about Generation X called ''Reality Bites''.{{citation needed|date=July 2025}} In 1995, director Kathryn Bigelow 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.{{citation needed|date=July 2025}}
Me Phi Me is married with a stepdaughter named Gabrielle, plus two biological daughters Autumn and Imani by former wife Nannette. He actively assists his church choir in Baltimore, Maryland when not consulting at a ''Fortune'' Top 20 corporation (with fellow artist Nick Limneos).{{Citation needed|date=July 2007}} He continues to write music and rhymes, with plans for the release of previously unreleased songs.
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== *{{cite web |last1=Koen |first1=David |title=Ho-Hum Hip-Hop Me Phi Me's Folksy Rap Is A Cruise Down The Eerie Banal |url=https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/ho-hum-hip-hopme-phi-mes-folksy-rap-is-a-cruise-down-the-eerie-banal-6425910 |website=Phoenix New Times |date=March 3, 1993}} *{{cite news |last1=Oermann |first1=Robert K. |title=Big Beat Poet |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tennessean-big-poet/177606993/ |work=The Tennessean |date=July 25, 1992 |pages=1D, 2D}} [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tennessean-me-phi/177607228/ story continued on page 2D]
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Category:Living people Category:African-American musical groups Category:Musicians from Flint, Michigan Category:Musical groups from Flint, Michigan Category:21st-century American rappers Category:21st-century African-American rappers Category:20th-century African-American musicians Category:Year of birth missing (living people)