The Lost Omniscenct Tapes

Alright, I'm psyched to be able to share with you guys another release I helped out on!  This is a brand new compilation of vintage, mostly never before heard songs by Omniscence on Gentleman's Relief Records called The Lost Tapes.  It's a limited edition (to 400 copies) CD, and if you're reading this, you can already order it now.  Update 11/22/24: And yes, a vinyl LP version is coming soon, too.

This collection is twenty tracks deep, nineteen of which were recorded between 1994 and 1998... although, strictly speaking, the first  and last are an intro and outro.  But the outro does feature Omni freestyling, and they were both produced in '95 with a smooth beat by Fanatic; so we'll count them as one song.  So that's eighteen songs from the 90s, and one self-produced track Omni recorded in 2002, where he was starting to test the waters for his comeback.  That song is called "Testin' the Waters."

The enclosed booklet has some great notes by Omniscence himself, where he helpfully explains that these songs are largely from three distinct eras.  The first are tracks originally recorded for Raw Factor, but the label rejected because they were literally too raw and not commercial enough.  Then you've got some tracks from '96 with a little harder edge ("I'd been scorned by the industry") he made for a 6th Boro compilation.  Then there are a few songs from '97-'98 that he recorded in NY as a demo he shopped around, but that otherwise went completely unheard.  And finally, there are a couple loosies, like two songs he recorded with Mixmasta D and that 2002 comeback track.

So what did I do?  I basically contributed one song.  If you've followed along with my Omniscence coverage, you might recall that I have an old Raw Factor promo EP with one song (called "Keep Giving Me Love") that had still never been released anywhere, despite the recovery and eventual release of the long lost Raw Factor album.  I now realize it must have been one of those tracks the label stupidly didn't want.  I described it in my initial post as one of the tightest tracks, and now you can finally hear it for yourselves.  In fact, you can hear two versions, because it turns out mine was a later release of a demo they already had called "The Flav's About To Drop," with the same raps and instrumental, but a completely different hook and some other subtle variations.  The Lost Tapes includes both.

There are a couple other points where you'll hear verses or elements repeat across songs here, because these were all unreleased tracks, so why not recycle something from them?  You know, the same situation as the Children of the Corn album Dust & Dope was able to release.  But it's pretty minimal.  This is a satisfyingly full and diverse album.  I said these were mostly unheard songs earlier because four of them were already featured on the 2015 Dope Folks EP Elektra Emancipation: No A&R and No R&B Niggas In the Studio, but this is their first time on CD at least.  And we have the original version of "This Year," a song that was titled "Dick Suck" on the Raw Factor album, with an entirely different instrumental.

Overall, Omni fans should be delighted.  Lots of lost music has been uncovered, and this isn't a case of the final, weakest scraps.  They might be the final ones, but they're as strong as any previous Omniscence record.  Most of the production's by Fanatic, and there are a handful of guest spots by the usual suspects.  Some of these songs could make the 'Greatest Hits.'

And if you missed it the first go around, GRR is also repressing Omni's long out of print God Hour album from 2014.  Now, if you'll recall that started out as an EP of brand new (at the time) Omniscence music flushed out to an LP by the inclusion of remixes for every single song.  And the CD version expanded it to 22 songs by also including his 2012 "Raw Factor 2.0" single and his 2013 Sharp Objects EP, in a big 2-disc set.  Well, this 2024 reissue is now a single CD, but it still includes all 22 songs from across the three releases.  It's also a limited edition (to 250 copies) and available as of this writing (in fact, I think you can get both releases cheaper as a bundle), but it's not a perfect one-to-one.

The original release was a 2-disc set in a digipack.  This new one is a single disc in a jewel case.  It still has all 22 tracks from the three releases; but it's missing the four uncredited bonus tracks: additional remixes of "Raw Factor 2.0," "Ease My Mind," "Letter To the Better" and "Welcome" that had mostly been cassette exclusives prior to that.  You still get two versions of every song from all three releases on one disc, so it's pretty packed and more than enough for most fans, I'm sure.  But serious collectors should be aware that the original's a little preferable.  ...And serious serious collectors will have those bonus remixes on their initial releases anyway, so I guess it's a pretty niche distinction.  But still.  Just so ya know.

Omniscence's Elektra Emancipation From Dope Folks

So, previously we've looked at the restoration of Omniscence's unreleased Elektra album, his rare earlier material, and his new comeback stuff. But there's one more period left to explore, which we finally get to hear, thanks again to Dope Folks Records. The EP has the exceptionally self-explanatory title: Elektra Emancipation: No A&R and No R&B Niggas In the Studio. This is material recorded from 1996-1998, after his stint with Elektra Records, and was back on his own, recording independent music without label influence. But thankfully, he kept working with The Bizzie Boyz' DJ Fanatic, who produced every song here. It's crazy this was never released at the time; these songs on 12" would've sold like hotcakes on Sandbox and HipHopSite back then.

Omni hasn't greatly changed from his Raw Factor time, but these tracks do have more of a hardcore edge. Part of that's probably due to aforementioned lack of mainstream R&B cats. There are no sung hooks or anything here, just nice scratch choruses. But part of the edge is coming from Omni, too. I mean, he's not back on his "When I Make Parole" steez here - he's still kicking punchline filled freestyle rhymes - but he just sounds a little rougher and maybe even angry at times.  I like it.

This is another six song EP, plus an instrumental Intro by Fanatic. The only guest on here is KT on "We Could Get Used To This," and he actually sounds pretty great on here. Like, he might actually be outshining Om on his own record. They both come off, though, and it's got one the catchiest beats I've heard in a long time with a looped vocal sample. That and "Total Domination," where he just sounds great ripping it over a dark and ominous beat are the stand-out cuts, but everything here is solid. There's a track called "Glamorous Life," surprisingly doesn't sound like Shiela E or Cool C's "Glamourous Life"s, but it still bumps.

This isn't a brand new release; it actually came out in 2015.  But luckily it's still available, because I just copped it earlier this month along with that crazy, must-have Mykill Miers record. As per usual, this was limited to 300 copies, 50 of which were on orange wax, and the rest are standard black. No Omni fan will be disappointed. I hope Dope Folks isn't slowing down anytime soon, because I'm always excited to see what they're going to come up with next.

The Complete Return Of Omniscence, part 2

Okay, so we're back with our coverage of Omniscence's new material. After Sharp Objects in 2013, GRR released a second EP, 2014's The God Hour. It's structured pretty similar to the last EP in that there's an EP of new songs - this time bumped up to 6 - and then that's doubled to LP length with all new remixes. This time the production feels a little tougher, with more emphasis on the boom bap. It's a little more New York, with a slightly darker, more serious tone all around, although Omniscence is still kicking punchlines and clever, complex rhymes. And Debonair P's still on the production and scratch hooks.

So on the one hand, you've got "The Return (Of the Oneliner)," on this EP, but you've also got lyrics like, "while they pay for love, ours' genuine, And I see it each and every venue we in. Put your O's in the air and hold 'em there, then close your eyes as we hold a prayer for the soldiers. I ain't talkin' Uncle Sam; I'm talkin' bout the ones holdin' that contraband. I'm talkin' bout the ones workin' that graveyard, 'cause they couldn't make enough on their day jobs." It's close, but I expect heads will wind up preferring this to the previous EP.

Once again, you've two versions of the vinyl, 150 on a clear gold and black mix, and 150 on a red and blue splatter. And they both come in the very cool, full color picture cover. The EPs have all 6 of the new songs, and remixes of four songs. Then there's an extra limited orange cassette with all six songs plus remixes for all six songs (the vinyl is missing the "Purge" and "Show and Prove" remixes). This time there's no instrumentals, though, on vinyl or tape.

And we have to take a quick pit stop here to look at another EP that GRR put out at the same time as The God Hour: Truck Jewels and Filters by K-Hill. K-Hill, you may remember, was the other North Carolina MC who did a guest appearance on Omniscence's Sharp Objects. It's also produced entirely by Debonair P, though it's got a distinct feel from Omni's stuff. Omniscence does a guest appearance, though, so fans will want to check this out for that. I mean, heads should check it out anyway, because it's good. But even if you're only here for the Omniscnece, then completists will need this.

It's a four-track EP; and like the other EPs we've been looking at, it also features an alternate remix version of every song. I feel like Debonair's cutting is given a stronger emphasis on this release, which is definitely a plus. And there's also a guest verse by Prince Po I should point out. K-Hill himself actually has sounds a little more old school than Omni, with that kind of "super lyrical" backpacker-style flow. But you know, not the super nerdy sci-fi type; definitely more down to Earth. That's probably for the better, although one song about quasars might've been nice. haha

The K-Hill EP also comes in a dope picture cover, as you can see, and is available on 150 copies of clear (clear) and black vinyl, and 150 randomly colored copies. I got a random one and it turned out to be pink with blue streaks. All four songs and all four remixes are on the vinyl. There's no cassette this time around, but there is a CD, which also has all eight tracks, plus hidden bonus track, which is a second, alternate remix of "Whenever I Write."

So those EPs came out right at the end of 2014 or so. Now, in 2015, there's a double CD compilation album, also called The God Hour, that has the same cover and title, but it's actually a little misleading and selling itself short. The CDs actually sum up the original God Hour EP and the Sharp Objects EP and even the original "Raw Factor 2.0" 7". It It lists 22 tracks, but there's actually 2 unlisted bonus tracks on each CD for a total of 24.  Edit: Derp, 22 + 2 + 2 = 26, not 24.

It basically breaks down to the original version of every song from each EP, including "Raw Factor 2.0" on disc 1, and then the corresponding remix to each song on disc 2. That might be a little confusing, since the original version of "Raw Factor 2.0" wasn't on the Sharp Objects EP, it had a new remix. But on here, it's the original from the 7" single. Then, on disc 2, the version they use is the remix from the 7" B-side. But don't worry, you get that jazzy third remix from the EP, too, as one of the uncredited bonus tracks on disc 1.

The other bonus track on disc 1 is the bonus remix of "Ease My Mind" that was only on the cassette and instrumental EP.  Back over to disc 2, and the two extra tracks are the bonus remixes of "Letter To the Better" and "Welcome," the other ones that were only on the Sharp Objects cassette and instrumental EP. So that means, this CD set gives you the full "Raw Factor 2.0," Sharp Objects and The God Hour packages (well, minus the instrumentals), with every song and every single remix that was featured on any version of those releases. Believe me, I'm sitting here with a pen and notebook paper, writing down every single uncredited bonus track, in case anything was missing or exclusive to a particular release. I've got 'em all on my desk and I can confirm, it's all 100% there.

So obviously, if you're a vinyl head, you'll still prefer the three EPs, and some of us old school collectors will want the cassettes. But if you're happy with CDs, this release is way more than just The God Hour pressed on CD, it's a complete archive of everything Deb and Omniscence have collaborated on for GRR Records. Oh, except that bit on the K-Hill EP; you'll still have to get that separately.

The Complete Return Of Omniscence, part 1

So, I've pretty thoroughly covered all the great releases that've resurrected Omniscence's lost 90s material, both rare and unreleased. But apart from his initial "Raw Factor 2.0" single in 2012, I'd been kinda putting off getting into all the new stuff he's been doing in the last couple years. If you've been missing it, the resurgence of his music has basically propelled a full throttle comeback, which has been running right alongside the reissues this whole time. But with the arrival of his latest double CD collection, I think it's time to finally break it all down.

The first record - or cassette, which is what I went for - to follow up the "2.0" 7" was the Sharp Objects EP in 2013. It's essentially a five-song EP to start us off on the idea of new, modern Omniscence music. But Gentlemens Relief Records packs it so generously full of bonus tracks, remixes and instrumentals, it (depending on which version you get) winds up being longer than most LPs. And really, the first thing to address even before we get into specific songs or colors of vinyl, is just this: how is new Omniscence? Does it sound like his old stuff? Will fans of his classic material really want to hear this, or is it just gonna piss 'em off and disappoint people.

And the answer to that question is pretty much exactly what you want it to be. It sounds like he never went away. This isn't some low-fi recording of him trying in vain to imitate Bobby Shmurda or some other popular teenage rapper over awful, computery tracks emailed to him by some random myspace producer.  He sounds like himself, he's got production to match, and yet he's not completely stuck in the 90s either. He's got rhymes for now. And sure, this is somewhat throwback rap. He's definitely trying (and succeeding!) to recapture the magic of the singles that made him famous in 1995. So this EP would sound out of place in a Youtube Playlist of Fetty Wap and 2 Chainz videos. He's embracing the style he mastered - which I think is what we want all artists making a comeback to do, rather than chasing fads.

A big, big chunk of the credit has to go to his new producer, Debonair P, who conveniently runs his label, GRR. In the past, I raved about how much I loved his production style for his group Low Budget. Well, this shit sounds nothing like that stuff; but it's great in another way. It's way more mellow, smoothed out and subtle... and very much in keeping with the kind of music Fanatic and them were making for Omni back in the day. I've heard that remix EP Deb released long before he started working with Omniscence, though, so I know he didn't just pull this sound of the air when that collaboration started; it was always in his wheelhouse. It's just with, with Omni, he's finally found a home for it. 'Cause this style fits Omniscence more than it did those other songs he was remixing. Deb P is also nice enough on the turntables to provide a lot of very Premier-like scratch hooks.

So this EP features four brand new songs, plus a new remix of "Raw Factor 2.0." And just to clarify, I mean a NEW remix, because the "2.0" single had a remix on the B-side. But that remix isn't the one on here either; it's a third, exclusive remix. This one's much jazzier, especially thanks to the big, summery horn sample that opens the track up. I feel like it takes it further in the direction the first remix was going in a cooler, more laid back alternative to the original.

"Welcome," as you might expect, is an introduction to Omniscence. HE tells the story of his life, lays down where he's coming from, and eases us into lyrical style by keeping it subtly rather than showy: "my world off the rocker but I keep it within. Fuck a spoon, I'ma show ya how to eat with a pen." "Ease My Mind" feels like a sex song he wrote in the 90s and just never recorded 'till now. It's basically built on the same loop as Gangstarr's "Gotta Get Over," which is sure to make it a fan pleaser. "Letter To the Better" is the kind of old school reminiscing track we've heard many times by now, and it's got an R&B girl on the chorus which is a little on the nose, but Omni manages to keep it authentic and respectable. "Church and State," from it's title, sounds like it's going to be the preachy message song of the record, but it's actually his hardest, most skill-flexing song. It features a guest verse by a fellow NC native K-Hill who sounds pretty good and holds his own alongside Omni, which isn't easy.

So, in a way that's the whole EP... But then you've got the remixes. Every single song on here is featured a second time, with an entirely new instrumental. There's actually two remixes here for "Welcome," "Letter To the Better" and "Ease My Mind." For the most part, I tend to prefer the original versions; but the remixes are all distinct enough that you can basically listen to the whole EP like it's twelve different songs. And I do prefer the remix to "Ease My Mind," both because it has a funkier, bouncier track, and because it replaces the sung chorus with a new scratch hook with a sick Big Daddy Kane vocal sample. Another cool thing which keeps the remixes fresh is that "Church and State" replaces its second verse, K-Hill's, with a new one by a new guest MC named Paul Bunyun. That's a terrible name, but his verse is alright. He sounds like one of those guys you hear on a Detroit posse cut when they have a million MCs on it.

Sharp Objects came out in a couple different versions. There were two vinyl EPs, 150 pressed on purple translucent wax and 150 pressed on blue swirl, both of which came in picture covers. The only downside is that two of the bonus remixes - the second "Welcome" and "Letter To the Better" remixes aren't on them. They're only included on the very limited cassette version, which has the same cover art and is made of gold plastic. What's more, all twelve of those songs fit on one side of the cassette, so all of the instrumental versions are included on the B-side. But if you think it sucks that vinyl lovers had to miss out on the instrumentals, a separate instrumental record. Limited to 150 copies, it also featured the two bonus remixes from the cassette. So yes, if you copped both vinyl EPs, you could have everything, just like with the cassette.

...And jeez, I didn't expect my coverage of just the first EP to run so long. I wound up having more to say than I anticipated. Well, I'm just going to have to break this up into two posts. So come back tomorrow (or, latest, the next day) for Part 2, because there's a lot more of Omniscence's return to get to.

Omniscence's Raw Factor Fully Realized

It's now after the conclusion of the Raw Factors series of 12" records from Dope Folks records, which included three songs apiece (plus exclusive instrumentals) off of Omniscence's legendary unreleased album, The Raw Factor. Between that and the original 12" singles on East/West, we've almost got the whole entire album in our mitts. And now it's time for this CD/ cassette release of The Raw Factor on Gentleman's Relief Records to put the cap on it.

So three Raw Factors with three songs each equals nine songs total [college degree, you've just paid off!]. This album has thirteen tracks, plus four bonus tracks, on both the CD and cassette, which we'll swing back around to later. So that means there's four non-bonus tracks on here that weren't on the EP. So obviously the big question is what the Hell are those songs?

Well, two of them are simply "Amazin'" and "Touch Y'all," the two original singles from the album that actually did get released back in the day. The idea with this Raw Factor release is to be the full, original album, so it only makes sense to get them back into the mix. Even for all of us who already own those singles, it's good to have them in the line-up just so we can listen to the whole album properly like it was meant to be. That's all cool, but that still only brings us to eleven. What are the last two?

1) I'm On Mine - Remember how I said the song "Maintain" was a mess on the old mix-tape/ bootleg downloads? 'Cause you had a couple tracks with that title, and another with a different title, "Greatest MC in the World," but had the same instrumental? Those versions were all messed up, and some screwed it up more than others, because they just did things like rip the old snippet tape and mash it up with the singles, past releases and all kinds of junk. That last one is what's happened here; it's actually a song from The Funky Oneliner EP, though many fans probably first heard it on the boot and think of it as a Raw Factor track. "I'm On Mine" is what was called "Greatest MC In the World" on the boots; they clearly got the title from the vocal sample from De La Soul's "Ego Trippin' Part 2" where they go, "I'm the greatest MC in the worrrrld," that the DJ is cutting up here on the hook.

2) I Gotta Maintain - And here's the proper version of "(I Gotta) Maintain," the full-length song, not just the snippets. It's the same version I have on my old promo EP, which was always one of Om's best to me, and another one from The Funky Oneliner EP. So that's eleven Raw Factor tracks and two Funky Oneliners for good measure.

With the release, I think we can finally put those misinformative unofficial releases to bed once and for all. We've got (almost) the whole album, in robust sound quality, and even a couple extra tracks. Oh right, and we've got bonus tracks, too.

The four bonuses are the "Touch Y'all" remix from the original 12" single, which featured Sadat X, and one of the two "Amazin'" remixes from that original 12", together giving you an even fuller Raw Factor experience. And then there's "Wreckognize" and "Freestyle After a Philly," which are two songs from his Funky Oneliner EP - kind of odd choices, but hey, who's complaining about two more dope Omniscence songs being on their albums?

So that's all 17 songs, we've reached the end... unless you leave the album playing and hear the extra bonus, uncredited 18th song not mentioned on the track-listing. And yes, by the way, it's on both the CD and cassette versions. It's the other, often forgotten "Touch Y'all" remix, the one that doesn't feature Sadat, by Fanatic that was also on the 12" single. Nice.

And let's talk about the actual physical product - although for the record, the whole thing (minus the hidden track #18) is available for download as well, on Omni's bandcamp if that's your thing. The cassette is pretty limited, to just 100 copies, and is pressed in cool, red plastic. The CD is a bit of a wider release, not just available from GRR's online store, but sites like ughh and hhv. It also includes liner notes written by Omniscence, telling the story of how the album was recorded all the way through to it ultimately not getting released back in the day.

So this is pretty great for Omniscence fans. The famously unreleased Raw Factor is now out on all formats, and all top quality releases. It's  pretty damn definitive, I'd say. Except... Interestingly, all of this still leaves one Omniscence song from my East/West promo tape still unreleased. "Keep Giving Me Love" was another smoothed out collection of fun, freestyle rhymes with a shout chorus, this time over a sample of Al B. Sure's "Nite & Day." I'm really not sure why everybody's still sitting on that one. Hmmm...

Update/ Errata (2/13/15) - I originally credited this album with "finally" allowing us to hear "Maintain" and "I'm On Mine," which were cut/ poor sound quality on the bootlegs... forgetting that both tracks were originally part of The Funky Oneliner EP. So while it's still a great package and a chance to finally get the (mostly) full album as it was originally meant to be heard, those two tracks won't actually be new to fans who have the original Oneliner EP, or the more recent Dope Folks repress.

Omniscence's Tri-Factor

It's been a minute since the last one, but the third chapter of Omniscence's Raw Factors has just landed. And I'm excited to say that this time around I've never heard any of 'em. We haven't heard low quality, mis-titled portions on the online mixtape versions, none of these songs appeared on my promo EP. It's all completely brand new. ...Except, you know, that it's from the 90s.

So, like the previous entries, this is a simple three-song 12" with the instrumentals on the reverse. No sticker cover, no frills. Just top quality remasters of three long-lost joints that we've been waiting decades for. It's not fancy, just essential.

Factors 3 opens with its hardest joint, "Represent." It features a young MC I've never heard of named Lil Kalef, but he more than holds his own. Both of them come off rougher on here than any of the Omniscence material we'd heard back in the day - it kind of reminds me of when Kool G Rap debuted Jinx the Juvy. It helps that the track has a serious New York vibe, though of course it's actually by Fanatic as usual.

The next track, then, has a smooth, nighttime vibe. Om's punchline style hear sounds a little more forced and dated here. If this was a new song, I'd say it's a little corny; but any heads picking up this release are surely fiending for the old 90s shit they've been missing out on. So you're gonna be happy to hear it, and Om sounds good enough over this track that even if it rhymes did rub you the wrong way, you'd have to give this song an overall pass.

And we finish up with "Dick Suck." We might lose female listeners here, or just mature ones, who don't particularly care to hear Omniscence brag about how he's going to get girls to give him head over and over again. But it's not actually a sex song. It's just all about how he and his crew finally made it, putting out a record (little did he know), achieving success, and so "this year, we're gonna get our dicks sucked."  This song actually sounds feels the most like the classic Omniscence material we've heard in the past, and it even features an uncredited Big Kap, who also hosted the original snippet tape most of us heard on those booty "mixtape" versions of Raw Factor. Oh, and he performed "Amazin'" with Omni on the Illstyle Live album. This is the song that will really fit all your expectations of what an unreleased Raw Factor track is gonna sound like... and that's definitely a good thing.

Look, you already know if you're one of the people that needs this in your life. If you were a backpacker in the 90s, reading the monthly Hip-Hop Quotables and tracking down the indie hip-hop projects you couldn't hear on the radio. If you're one of us, all you need me to tell you is that this volume doesn't disappoint. It's every bit as good as the previous entries. So don't let the facts that this is the third in an ongoing series and there's nothing fancy or glossy about the packaging to resell you on the concept let you lose steam and miss out on this. Because you'll regret ti down the line when you don't finally have the complete, original Raw Factor in your crates.

More Of the Raw

Dope Folks is back with more of Omniscence's heretofore unreleased album, The Raw Factor. Raw Factors Pt. 2 features three more unheard and remastered tracks from 1995 and '96, replete with the instrumentals on the flip.

Well, when I say "unheard," I mean unheard by all of you. I've actually owned two of the three tracks on my unreleased Omniscence promo tape since the 90s. To save you the intensive labor of clicking that link, here's what I had to say about those songs:
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3. "My Main Man" - The first verse of this is featured on the mixtape; but on the tape it's a full song with three verses. It's another smooth track, and has Omniscence reminiscing on his past with his best friend. He's not really doing the punchline thing here (well, he still does a little, with lines like "I remember when I had no status; but you still backed me up like the Pips did Gladys"), but his MCing is still unquestionably nice. It also features some nice scratching on the outro.

6. "When I Make Parole" - This one is a surprise. First of all, for the record, it's not on that mixtape. Secondly, despite having another smooth instrumental, Omni kicks a surprisingly harder flow here, but it actually works. His voice is rougher, he sounds angrier, and his lyrics are definitely more street:

"I'm so incredibly criminal minded;
Puffin' that angel dust got me blinded.
Rush up on the spot with my glock on cock,
Crack rock bustin' out the side of my sock.
Stumblin' up the block,
Yo, I see this devil bitch;
Yeah, just enough to make my trigger finger itch.
'Excuse me, miss,
Do you got the time?'
Smack her in the grill with the steel-piece nine!
Gimme the jewels and the butter-soft leather.
Should I let her live, or should I fuckin' wet 'er?
Click click boom!
Gun shots to her chest;
Situation critical, I'm dippin' to the rest.
Mom duke's flippin' 'bout the rumors:
I'm goin' 'round town, rollin' with my crew, givin' out brain tumors!"
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And it's just so awesome now that everybody else finally gets to hear those songs!  And to have them as fresh vinyl copies with their instrumentals to boot.

Of course, for myself, it's the third track that's the most exciting, since that one's completely new to my ears along with the rest of you guys. It's called "Nuff Love" and is a real crowd pleaser. I'm already seeing online responses saying Pt. 2 is even better than the first. It's certainly everything you'd expect from a vintage Omni track: a cool, vibe-heavy (a la "Maintain") instrumental with a mellow shouted (yes, that's a possible combination) chorus. Omni brings plenty of punchlines ("you may be live, but the vandals are much liver; we beat you worse than they did that white truck driver"*), but never crosses the line to schticky.

Actually, "completely new to [our] ears" is a bit of an overstatement.  If you've ever downloaded one of those bootleg Raw Factor mixes online [read my interview with Omniscence for the story behind those], you've heard this track before, paired with the made-up title "Love To the Crews." Of course, that was all hissy and crappy. The sound quality here is far superior; plus again it's on vinyl and comes with the instrumental version.

It goes without saying at this point, as a release from Dope Folks, it's limited to 350 copies and reasonably priced. It should also go without saying that this is an absolute essential for any Omniscence fan, featuring three tracks, all top shelf, released for the first time ever. This is what we've waited all these years for.


*Meaning Reginald Denny, for all you younger heads out there.

Return Of the One Liner, Omniscence Interview

It's a great time to be an Omniscence fan. His rarest material is getting remastered and pressed on vinyl, making it obtainable to many of us for the first time. His famously shelved Elektra material is making its debut after a nearly 20 year wait. And he's mounting a comeback, recording and releasing all new music. Now's the perfect time to finally catch up with him and get his full story. I mean, how many artists didn't just get favorable reviews but even a Rhyme of the Month in The Source, and then still not come out? So many heads have been on the hook since then, waiting for answers.

Definitely, definitely. It's been crazy, man, it's been a crazy journey;. I've kinda been able to experience both sides of the game, as far as being an independent artist -  which that's pretty much been most of the gist of it. But those couple years on Elektra, I did get to see what it was like to be an artist on a major. So I'm one of a few cats who I guess can say I've seen both sides of it, you know?

And what's crazy, is a lot of people don't connect... Well, they do now, thanks to brothers like yourself. But before now, a lot of people didn't connect the two different eras, due of course to the infamous "i" in Omniscience, and then the "i" that is not in Omniscence. Ha ha!

I was going to ask you about that! What is the story with the two different spellings? Was that just a mistake on 6th Boro's part?

No, no! Every MC has been at this point and time in his career in the early stages when he's trying to find a name. And, you know, I'm lookin' in the dictionary, I'm looking in magazines... And I came across the word "omniscence" actually spelled the way that it's spelled now. In the dictionary. And it had two definitions; one was "all knowing." But that was actually not really the definition I wanted to try to represent. But it was the second one, "having infinite knowledge," which means to me that there's no limit. Like "omni" means all, and then of course science or "scence" would me the knowledge of it. So Omniscence meaning there's no limit to what I can learn, there's no limitations on me. So that's why you have that raw side of me that's kinda ignorant: I'm smashin', I'm whylin'. But then there's a certain consciousness to me, too. And there's always been a battle between the two.

When Fanatic and I did The Funky One Liner EP, I wanted to insert that "i" because I went back and did my research. And that is also a word as well. And they both pretty much have the same meaning. But I wanted to insert the "i" because I felt at that time, I had been around some of the Five Percenters, and I'd been getting some of the knowledge of self. So I decided to insert the "i" because I felt I had more of a science to what I was doing.

Then eventually, when I got to Elektra, I was told there was some artist, or maybe an album that had that name already. [I think it might've been this one - werns] So i reverted it back to my original spelling of the name. So it was all a conscious effort on my part; but if I had been thinking ahead of time, I would've just kept it the original way. Because that did throw some cats off, I do believe. But you know, it's a new day, and thankfully everything is being thrown out there for people to understand now.

Yeah, with Dope Folks putting out your back catalog now, almost all together, that's gotta make it clear to pretty much everyone that it's all the same guy.

Right, right. The only record of mine that sounds the least, or separates itself from all the other records, would be the Back To the Lab joint, "Lost In the Music." Because I was so young, and I hadn't learned out to put some "umph" in it. And I was a really young guy so my voice hadn't started to come into its own. "Lost In the Music" was the very first song I ever recorded, and only the second or third rhyme I ever wrote. If you listen to the record, there's no ad-libs, no doubles...

Because what happened was, we ended up going to record the whole album - that means everybody that's on the album - was all recorded in one day! It was a long time ago, but I just remember about twenty of us being in a guy named Starchild's house somewhere way south, a very southern part of North Carolina I';d never been to. He had like an in-home studio. And you really had to know your rhymes because time was limited. I just went in and done it in maybe two takes and it was over.

But it was a great time, because I had come from a more rural part of North Carolina, and I had never ever been in a studio. And I'm around these guys, some of whom had made records, like my man Dizzy and KSB. And when you listen to that record, you can hear especially with my man KSB Fresh, he was really seasoned. That record "I'm Groovin'" to me... You know, I got a lot of the props for the record, which I fell slightly deserved, but his flow and his cadence on that record, man. To this day, I'm amazed by it.

Yeah, there was a lot of surprisingly impressive stuff on that album.

Yeah, it was! You know, these guys... Kevin K, of course Dizzy who had been in B.A.D. Rep. I'd already heard the B.A.D. Rep record and of course the Bizzie Boyz. Living in the rural part of North Carolina, we didn't get to get out a whole lot. So there was a college radio station, 90.1, and I could barely pick it up on my stereo in my mom's house. So Friday nights, I'm like 14, 15 years old, I wasn't doing a whole lot but I had a love for this music. So you had the legends of the game, you know the Big Daddy Kanes, EPMD, Public Enemy... all those records were playing on the station. but then they would bring in these Payroll Records, and they wouldn't miss a beat. The quality and the officialness of the record... I just thought they were some cats from New York, just bein' honest. And then one night, the DJ, god bless him, Texas Pete, he said, "I want you all to know, these records that I'm playing from these guys are your very own. They're from North Carolina." And then one night he even had them come up to the studio and do a big interview. So I was a fan of these guys like a year or more before I even met them.

Being out in that rural part, it was almost impossible that I would meet these guys doing their thing out in Greensboro, which is definitely not a metropolis, but compared to where I was from it was. But I had a cousin who was going to this college the radio station was airing for. And she ended up moving from where I was from to Greensboro to stay with her aunt. And one night, she calls me like, "guess who I live right up the street from!" I'm like who? And she's like, "you know, those guys, the Bizzie Boyz?" She didn't even know who it was, she was just like, "he's one of the members of the group the Bizzie Boyz; I met him last night." It ended up being Ski. I don't know what they had, some little fling, but it wasn't serious. Some little teenage fun. But anyway, she arranged for me to meet him.

So I met him, and I was just mad nervous. He put on some beats, and Will Ski was like a lyrical assassin back then. I look to him as being the illest lyricist to ever come out of North Carolina, but people don't even know it.

Yeah, now people just know him as Ski Beats.

Right, because of he went on to establish himself in a great way. Have you ever just met a guy who can do everything? He could do graffiti, he could break dance, he could rap, he could do anything, you know. He was like a superman. It's in his blood.

Anyway, long story short, he put some beats on, said some incredible lyrics, and I was kinda scared because I had never really written anything. So I attempt to freestyle, and I'm fuckin' up big time, man. Ha ha!  I'm bumblin' and he's like, yo money, look man. Just take these beats home, take your time and write what you wanna say. So I went home, of course I wrote a couple verses, and worked on 'em. I recited them every day until I had 'em in the head. And I kept buggin' my cousin like yo, I gotta get back up there to see Will Ski again! So, when I saw him, I dropped the verses on him, and he was just like: you got it, man, you got it. So, from there he introduced me to Eli Davis who is now the manager for R&B singer Anthony Hamilton. And the second cat I met was Fanatic.

But what ended up happening at the time, as you well know, is Payroll split up. So the guys who were in the Bizzie Boyz had to make a choice. Pretty much Fanatic and the owner of the label, Roland, were at odds. Because Fanatic at the time was producing pretty much all of it. Mixmaster D had done a couple tracks, and Fanatic was in the process of teaching Ski how to make beats, so he wasn't really a bona fide producer at that time. So Fanatic felt like, he being the man behind those records, he wanted to see Payroll go a certain direction with their deal structure. Because they had a big deal on the table with Atlantic Records; and for some reason that deal fell through. And the end result was Fanatic was kind of bitter that deal fell through, and I think he blamed Roland for that.

So there was a split, and Roland, Ski and Nyborn went to New York to get where it was happening at. And Fanatic and DJ Def who later becomes Mark Sparks and was also one half of B.A.D. Rep... they decided to stay back and form their own production, which was Def Rhythm Productions. They wen out and recruited a few more cats. And Ski was actually the cat who originally brought me into the circle, but I'll never forget him calling me. I was only sixteen years old, so it's nto like I can just take off and go live in NEw York. My mom wasn't havin' it! So he was like, you're in good hands with my man Fanatic.

And so, from then on, I started working with Fanatic. And also Mark Spark, he also produced what were my demos.

Wait, I gotta interrupt now. Those demos... do you have them? Will they be coming out?

Ha ha ha! You know what, it's really crazy, man. I'll be honest, I don't have them. But a few years back, I wanna say this was '98... I actually had a CD that had a few of those joints, about four of them. They were rough, man, I don't know if they could even be mixed or mastered to sound up to quality. But I had a CD with those joints, and I don't know what happened to that shit. I really think somebody got their hands on it, and I should've valued it more... That's how I feel about a lot of things now. I was a young kid, but even at that time I should've kept my hands on that. But I'll tell you something good, Werner.

Right after Back To the Lab, there was maybe about ten MCs involved... Well, it got shortened down to three of us. Cats weren't feelin' it, or... I'm not gonna say no names, but let's just say it got narrowed down! Ha ha So three of us: me, Dizzy Dee, and D-Mack. And this is real important because, after that happened, we formed a group called SoHo, which was short for Southern Hospitality. And we ended up signing a deal with Kenny Smith, a basketball player from North Carolina who played for the Houston Rockets. Well, back then he was a Queens cat, so you know he had music in his blood, and he wanted to sign a hip-hop act. So we recorded four songs, and I do have those.

So, getting back to the story... After Ski left, Fanatic was just like my mentor. At this time, I had an actual flow, but he was still putting together concepts for songs. My input was always welcome, but he was still the man. Fanatic was a real producer; he ain't the type of cat that just wants to slide you a beat and then say he produced it. He will do that, but he really played a big part in our early records. Mark and Dizzy had that tie from B.A.D. Rep, and D-Mack was their man, Mark brought him in. So those three had a certain bond, and me and Fanatic had a certain clique. We were all together, but we ended up splitting up because Fanatic really believed in me and he felt that this deal with Kenny Smith wasn't going to pan out. Really, he felt bad for all three of us, but he knew he could not get all three of us out of that contract. So he was just like, yo, you just need to go tell Dizzy and D-Mack that you wanna go solo. Man, it was one of the hardest things that I ever had to do, because they were like my big brothers. They really showed me a lot in the Back To the Lab and of course the Southern Hospitality days. It was a very hard decision for me, but I did it. And their was some animosity behind it, too; but it did wind up being the right move, I feel, because God makes no mistakes. If I hadn't done that, we probably never would've had a Funky One Liner EP.

But SoHo ended up putting out a 12", it's called "Shortie." It's actually a dope record, produced by Mark Sparks and Laquan, who is actually MC Romeo, from Back To the Lab. And I gotta say something about him, too, before we move on. He is very instrumental in the records Mark produced, even though Mark got a lot of the credit, but he goes by the name of Laquan now, and him and Mark kinda came into their own sound at the same time. Mark got a lot of the credit - which he deserved! - but Laquan also deserves a lot of the credit for coming through with that sound as well.

That's not the same Laquan from "Now Is the B-Turn?"

No!  Ha ha ha! I'm very glad you brought him up; you made me remember him. But actually no, this is another Laquan who was MC Romeo. I don't know if you're familiar with the sound that Mark Sparks kind of graduated to after the early Back To the Lab beats, which was more the classic samples, James Brown, etc. Then of course when he want on to do the Grand Puba stuff, and some stuff with Guru. He did a few things... his sound got more jazzy.

And smoother.

Smoother, exactly. And Laquan, I wanna say, aka MC Romeo - he was very instrumental and played a big part in that as well. And this record, "Shortie, Who's Your Friend" embodies that sound. It's really dope. And Dizzy and D-Mack, they body that joint. And MC Romeo, in fact, he's actually rhyming on that, too! It's featuring him, so he's actually rhyming at the end, and he and Mark Sparks produced the record.

So moving on, I'm solo again and it's just now me and Fanatic. And he was like, yo, we've got come through with some shit! And at the time, a lot of the records had a certain sound, and Tribe and them had started to come through with that sound, and I feel Fanatic was very influenced by that sound The Funky One Liner EP. If you notice, it has a lot of those horns; and of course Pete Rock was a very big influence.

So you hear the horns, the jazz samples and the hard snares. And I just zoned out to those joints. I probably wrote the Funky One Liner EP in the matter of one week. He hit me with all these beats on a beat tape, and I was of course heavy into the leaf. Ha ha! Nothing came as natural as those records came as natural as when we recorded those songs out of Ultimix Studios in Greensboro. It was just a vibe that we had, and I just can't explain it. Everything came together, and it was one of those records that was more about just a vibe. It was the era where everybody had the Timb's strapped up and the hoodies just like "rah!" But in reality, I was still this country boy from the rural part of North Carolina, you know, my mom's trailer. And it just had an energy I don't think I could ever truly duplicate. A lot of people say, "take it back, take it back!" But the sound of those records, the vibe that I was in... that was a zone indeed.

Now, that was on 6th Boro Records, but who was that? Who ran that label?

Hey, that was Fanatic! The deal was this. There was a studio called Ultimix, a serious high quality sixty-four track mixing board, fully equipped facility. It was top of the line, owned by a guy named Bradley Hinkle. Fanatic met Bradley, let him know who he was and probably turned him on to the Payroll records, and Bradley probably saw that there was something about this guy as opposed to a lot of other cats... he was serious about his music. So they formed a partnership and a friendship. I'm nto sure how Fanatic was able to pull off a lot of that studio time, but he pulled it off. It owuld be late nights, and we'd have to get in there and do our thing.

And of course, Ultimix had previously pressed up a lot of records themselves. They did a lot of club remixes of popular songs. I guess that's why it was called Ultimix to a degree. They'd do mixes on certain 12"s...

Yeah, I remember those kind of records.

Right, and so I think Brad had the connection to a nearby pressing plant; I think his name was Les. But at any rate, Fanatic was more or less able to be the owner of 6th Boro Records. That was thew title he came up with for his production company, and he was able to put that on records through his connection with Les and Bradley. I'm not sure if there was a kick-back to them for that, but 6th Boro is Fanatic.

Right, because Funky One Liner wasn't the only record on 6th Boro.

Of course. You had The Funke Leftovers. Fanatic had always wanted to be an artist. He didn't just want to be, he is an artist. You see, most producers aren't like that where they'd shape the ideas and push the artist and sculpt the record like that. Now lyrically... he needed my help, I'll just say that. I was the ghostwriter on pretty much all of the Funke Leftovers stuff. The plan was to come with the Funke Leftovers who were appealing to more of the ladies... they were wearing the leather vests with no shirts on.

Yeah, I remember that video!

Ha ha! Exactly, the Jodeci look back in the day, with the leather and the boots and no shirt on. And you know me, I was strictly hip-hop. And he knew that, so he was like, we're gonna throw this out there and see what it does, and we're gonna work on your joint at the same time. So Funke Leftovers came out before myself... Brick Flava dropped a record, I think that was before me, "The Bossman." It was a guy named Rock from Newark, New Jersey, and I think Fanatic was working with him and myself almost simultaneously. Rock was really a one-man show, but they were billing him like a group because he had some guys around him that I guess were his hypemen or whatever. And then of course after, you had the Lord VI and the "Cheeze" record that was just ridiculous I feel. That was actually recorded around 1996, a little bit after my deal with Elektra. So Fanatic has continued to uphold the 6th Boro name, even of course with his production credits for various people including of course Lil Kim, Michael Jackson, "Speechless" for Beyonce. He's done some really big records, so the 6th Boro name lives on. But Funke Leftovers was the one at the time.

I've thought about picking up the Funke Leftovers record, but then I figure Dope Folks is probably going to put that out any minute.

Oh yeah, Dope Folks haven't already put out the Leftovers?

Not yet, but I bet it's coming.

Oh, it's coming, it's definitely coming! Big ups to John Kuester over there. I just recently got acquainted with him, because I had no part in that Funky One Liner record [the reissue]. Because they were dealing with Fanatic, I guess, and he had the masters, and Fanatic and I weren't in contact then. I kinda let that slide, because that project was Fanatic's baby and it was on his label. But big ups to John because when you get to the Raw Factors, that's now something that involved Elektra, 3 Boyz From Newark, myself and Fanatic, too. And that's not something he wanted to move forward without myself being involved in. So we got together and talked about a lot, and I got a lot of respect for those guys at Dope Folks.

I'm gonna be honest, Werner. People were hitting me up since the beginning of the internet! We'll just call it the myspace era, because that was really the first time people could truly reach out to me. And from that time, people were hitting me like, "you name your price!" And I'll be honest, I was really avoiding people and not responding, you know, even saying I'm gonna put this record out myself. But the reality was: I didn't have the record. I didn't have the masters. Fanatic did. And him and I would speak about it, and he would always say: I gotta do some digging... I gotta go through my stuff and find it... I think I got a cassette...

I think what happened was Fanatic did not have it himself either. But he was over somebody's house, and I'm not gonna name who it was - that person will remain anonymous - but he told me what happened. He saw it, and he took it. Hew was like I gotta have this. It was on a CD, and it was crispy. So he was able to get some of the records from that. And from digging, he had found some of the masters that he had stored from some of our Hit Factory sessions as well. Because we recorded some of it in the Hit Factory, and we recorded some of it in a studio out there in Montclair New Jersey. It was all mixed by Ben Garrison, who was an in-house engineer for Vincent Herbert, who we signed with. But the album was mastered by Chris Garrison from Sterling Sound, a lot of people don't know that.

But you talked about you releasing the album online, and I remember you announcing that back on myspace... And you wound up putting out some mixes, like mixtape versions of Raw Factor. Like not really the album, but stuff from it?

Right! Let me get into that, man. It's the myspace era, a little bit before, I'm just getting acquainted with the internet. And of course the first thing I wanna do is google my name and see who knows what. And I'm putting in "Raw Factor" and I'm coming across this one particular collection of songs called The Raw Factor. And I'm looking at the titles like, this ain't The Raw Factor! But what happened was - and I'ma be honest Werner, I didn't put that out. That's what a lot of people thought, and that's why they were hitting me for the records like "I'll pay whatever!" But what that particular Raw Factor is, first: "Lost In the Music," which is totally way before The Raw Factor. Then it's The Funky One Liner EP.

Well, now, gotta say this. Of course, you do know that "I'm On Mine" and "Maintain" were on the official Raw Factor that was gonna come out. That was a deal me and Fanatic made with Vince. They were like, "we will sign you, but we want those records on the album." Because we thought the album was gonna stay in that same lane as The Funky One Liner. But when you begin to hear the record, you'll see that it was during that time that Biggie had came, and he really had messed the game - well, not messed it up in a bad way. But he made it really hard for other rappers to come out, because the labels wanted that formula of back when Puff started sampling the old 80s records. And Biggie made it so MCs had to switch it up a little bit. And I can't front, he impacted myself.

I always felt that, as an MC, I should be able to rock over any type beat. If my name is Omniscence, going back to that, there should not be a certain style that I'm stuck in. So some of those records you'll here, like the one where we sample Al B. Sure... I'm not gonna say it's totally away, but sonically I mean. Lyrically, I felt I continued to try to keep it a certain way, but sonically, musically, you would've never heard Al B Sure sampled on The Funky One Liner EP. That was the effects of being signed to a major.

But there's more out there than just the older stuff and the singles...

Well, after the Elektra situation, Fanatic was like, "let's make a 6th Boro compilation." He had now connected with Lord VI and he had an R&B group that he was dealing with. This was recorded in Ultimix, and I wish I could get my hands on that as well. But on this compilation is where you get the songs "Stage Domination," "Causin' Terror." It was a few joints, and if you listen to those, now we're moving further up in time, I've been scorned by the industry, things didn't go right for me with The Raw Factor. It was a harder edge on those records, because of course I came back home and I was dealin' in some street life and different experiences of just being back into general population. Because of course I didn't wanna go get a job. So I was out there kinda whylin' a little bit, out of my element. But you know, I do love those records. Those are some of the dopest records that have never been heard. And I truly believe Fanatic has those records and is going to be bringing those forth. There are about five from me.

So that Raw Factor consisted of all that. And then, this is the most heinous thing about that Raw Factor which pissed me off the worst. They put the fucking snippet tape from me and Big Kap on it.

That's what it was! With that stuff of you talking to Kap, I thought you had to be involved with the mix, like you two made a mix-tape out of the album.

I was like, really man? So can you how imagine how I was feeling? Up 'till not too long ago! I was really sour about this Raw Factor. But you know, the crazy thing, people were like, "yo, that Raw Factor was dope!" Ha ha! And I was just like, nah, that ain't really The Raw Factor, man. It's just a blessing that Dope Folks and Fanatic was able to make it happen, and that I was cut into the deal as well. It's just a blessing, because those records that you're going to be hearing from Dope Folks are official Raw Factor records. And, I don't know how to explain it... They sound really good to me now, years later. Back then, I was like, I don't know, man... I think people wanna hear that Funky One Liner stuff. But now, listening to those records, especially the title cut, "Raw Factor." That song is a representation of what I want the whole album to sound like. That is one of my favorite recordings to this day; I'm just glad people got to hear that particular record.

"If You Got Beef." Of course you remember that Black Sheep record where Dres is going buck wild and then he wakes up, "I dreamt I was hard." That was just me and Fanatic being like let's just record some hard, grimy, ill shit. Because I think that was the backlash of Vincent. Because god bless Vincent Herbert; he's a visionary, responsible for Lady Gaga coming out. He was a great business man, but I think his influence on us kinda took us from that Funky One Liner sound, so "If You Got Beef" was maybe me going a little too hard going hold up, we're still those dudes and we will still bring it like this. But if you go back to The Funky One Liner, it was a hard record, but it wasn't that hard. It was more natural to me. But now I go back and listen to "If You Got Beef" and it's like, yo, that was just dope.

Well, I know you've got one song that's even harder than that, which people haven't heard yet. I blogged about it before, called "When I Make Parole."

Oh my god, oh my god! Another backlash though, Werner. At that time, of course, Boot Camp was hittin' hard, Smif & Wessun had The Shinin' album. And then my man Rock from Brick Flava... he's actually in the "Touch Y'all" video. Fanatic is lip-syncing his voice sayin', "yeah, no question!" That's Rock; and he was just charged. Me and him were feedin' off each other and he's actually the guest appearance on that record. We were just releasing some anger I guess you'd say on that record. Because if you look at Vincent Herbert, his work to this day has been mostly R&B affiliated. There's nothing wrong with that at all, but The Raw Factor is the result of a raw MC coming together with more of an R&B based executive producer. And musically, the only time that has really worked to me has been Biggie and Puffy. I think Vince thought in some way he could pull off what Puffy was pulling off, and... we'll never know, really, what the record would've done. Looking back on it, I think this is dope, but back then I was really concerned about The Funky One Liner people who supported me from that era. I'm proud of it all, though, I wouldn't change a thing. And I'm very glad this music is getting to be heard.

Well, of course, it wasn't just your album that wound up getting shelved. Those guys had a whole roster of strong MCs... Juggaknots, Lin Que, SuperNat, Pete Rock's guy from INI...

Deda!

Right. And 8-Off, all those guys all got swallowed up. It was crazy.

I think what it was is that Elektra had two MCs they were focused on who had already established themselves: ODB and Busta Rhymes, obviously legends.

I'm just gonna speak on my situation. We were a label within a label. 3 Boyz From Newark was a sublabel distributed by Elektra. So we didn't ask for a lot of help or guidance, so I know that may've caused a little rift in that situation. And the word is that the budget for the album was being misused. And Vince had a deadline to get this album in to Elektra, and this deadline, due to a lot of sample clearances - 'cause now we're sampling really heavy - you can't just throw that stuff out there. And so there was a deadline that wasn't being met, so they pretty much shut the album down and were like, we're gonna have to talk about it. And I think Vince's plan was like, "Look, man, I've milked this thing for what it is..." His thing with me was like, "look, we're gonna go to another label." And I was so frustrated, like the sound had kinda got changed and now it's not coming out.

So what I did was, I'll never forget it. It was a conference call with myself, Fanatic, Vincent Herbert and Barry Henderson - who I don't know if you're familiar, is the long-time manager of R. Kelly and the uncle of Aaliyah - he was actually managing Vince at the time. So I told all of 'em, I need time, I gotta go back home. I gotta get my head together man, because I am the kid from the country, the woods, where you see cows and farms. I'm from that. And I had gotten way, way away from that living in New York City, and things were moving very fast for me. I'm trying to hold on, but when you start messing with my music, that's like taking my soul away from me, man. It became to be a little too much, so I was like yo I want out and I went back home.

So that's why The Raw Factor never came out. Your original question was about me and my label mates, who were some dope cats. I remember my man Daddy D.

He was associated with Latifah or something, right?

Right, yeah I think he was. All I can say, I don't know each individual situation, but I think the guys A&Ring the projects were not very knowledgeable, and the guys promoting the projects. Even up to Sylvia Rhone whose name rings bells. Everybody knows who she is but I don';t know if they were in touch with how to market these hip-hop records. Whereas with Ol Dirty, the Wu was in full effect so it was gonna sell itself.

And I think they had the Das EFX comeback then.

Right, right! They had Das EFX who were already established. But I don't feel that particular album received the marketing it deserved. That was a dope album. And then of course Busta, they had to push that. But I got to speak with all of these guys during that time, they recorded a live performance, which I'm pretty sure you're aware of, the Illstyle Live. That was just a great night where everybody showcased what we were bringing to the table and I gotta say, we were like a family. Everybody respected each other's work. I just don't think Elektra knew what they had.

And what was the connection with Big Kap? Because he was on Illstyle, plus your mix which turned out to be your snippet tape. 

That was my man, one hundred grand. I was introduced to him by a guy named Sincere Thompson, who also hooked up that record I did with Sadat X, the remix. Sincere's just an all around business man and he actually linked me up with Kap. Me and Kap were serious blunt smokers. We hit it off; he actually came out to stay at my crib in Jersey when we were recording The Raw Factor. And I would come out to Brooklyn and hang out with him. We bonded a little bit and that was a natural thing. And of course you know at the time - and probably to this day; I haven't talked to him in a while - he was rolling with Flex and the whole Flip Squad. So there was great potential to parlay that album; we had a lot of things going in our favor. But I still believe, as an MC... You know, some people were meant to put on that shiny suit or jump out and be that. And some artists are meant to keep it true to the core of who they are. But anyway, Kap is my man, and we actually performed five or six more times together, and each time was really good.

One thing that's kinda surprising, especially with your style and the times you were coming out - I guess it's because, coming from NC, you weren't so plugged into the scene - is that you never really did any guest verses on anybody else's projects.

Hey, that's right! You know, recently, I told my man K-Hill thanks for giving me my first guest appearance! You know, that's a North Carolina thing. But to be honest, Werner, I have always been to myself. I have never been that guy - and I regret that in a lot of ways - but I've never really been that guy, like, if we're at a party and X rapper is over there, I'm not gonna go over like yo I"m Omniscence and I wanna do a joint with you! I've always been to myself and I've always been hard to contact up until recently. I've really been to myself. I haven't really been traveling or moving around or anything. I've really been kinda around the way with my peoples and haven't made myself accessible to a lot of people. But I'm here, if anybody should ever wanna collaberate or do a joint, you never know what the future may hold.

Yeah, and certainly before I end this I have to get into the fact that you're back making records now.

Definitely, definitely! I feel like we saved the best part for last, Werner! Ha ha ha! I don't know, that remains to be seen. But let me just say as we're coming to the end... I have never met face to face John Kuesler from Dope Folks, who I hold in high regard. I've never met yourself, who I hold in serious high regard. And I have never met Debonair P face to face. But let me just say Debonair P is one of the truest cats, just how he and I have conducted business. And he is truly someone who I will go to bat for in any situation. This guy is the one guy... Everybody has always wanted to focus on the older records, which I love. I appreciate that love because any love is better than no love. So I get it and I appreciate that. But Debonair is one of the first cats to approach me and say, "I'm a fan from back in the day, but would you be interested in doing some new music? Like, do you still do this?" Ha ha!

Because, see,, the whole time, I never stopped keeping my ear to the music. I never stopped writing and I never stopped believing that I could do it. If this was football or a sport, I could see where as I age, that's gonna have a deterioration on my body and I can't do it... But this is hip-hop! What did Krs say? Even in that time, I'll say a rhyme! When I'm eighty, runnin' around like I'm wild and crazy. So Debonair is one of the first cats and was very instrumental inn me wanting to do this again, along with my man K-Hill, too.

So he shot me some music and I was really digging what he shot me. So with the "Raw Factor 2.0," what I wanted to do was... When you've been gone from the game as long as I have, you don't want to come back on some totally new, like, "is this Omniscence?" So what I tried to do with that record was recapture some of the flair and the rawness of the older records: The "Amazin'"s and the "I'm On Mine"s, "Maintain," alla that. Really "Amazin'" was the record I wanted "Raw Factor 2.0" to be similar to. The samples that Debonair chose was a little smoother, but I still felt that if I put the raw edge on it, we could capture that. And the response has been great!

Which lead to us doing this EP, which just came out.
 
Yeah, you say it just came out, it JUST came out, like yesterday [order it here]. My copy's still in the mail, I ordered the cassette.

Oh yeah man, I just got my copies the other day. And let me just say, other than the warmth that you'll get from vinyl that was done off a two-inch tape, there's nothing like hearing the warmth off a tape. Other than the vinyl; but it's different. It's really a different sound than the digital recordings..So for the fifty people that are gonna get that cassetre, man, y'all are really gonna get a treatr, man. It's really a good listen.

 And Sharp Objects is a different record. I really want to state that for the record, on this interview, I really want this to be known. It's me speaking on a few topics... Not to say these topics have never been touched on, but these are my perspectives, and my point of view on some of these things are actually sharp. They could actually pierce or cut the average person that's listenin'. As opposed to me just doing some freestyle or party records. That's why I call it Sharp Objects.

Because on "Raw Factor 2.0," people were like okay, he's still in that vein. And I still am. But you gotta realize that I'm forty years old. And when I did those records I was nineteen, twenty, twenty-one... I got a kid now, I got a girl, I'm living at home. But I'm still going out doing some things as well. Because I can't ever shake what's inside of me. So the record Sharp Objects is a perfect blend of me now, mixed with where I was back then. Because some things are never going to change; you can probably tell from this interview I'm still very hyped up about a lot of things. I just hope that the listeners who hear this record allow me to grow and mature, because that's simply what has happened. Because if you throw on the first Redman record, and then you throw on whatever his last joint was, you know, you're going to hear that's till Redman. But you're going to hear the differences in the cadence, the maturity of the voice. And I'm a lot calmer now. I'm still wild and rough, but I like to call it a controlled rage. Ha ha!

And one thing I do think also is difference about Sharp Objects is it's a concept record, man. More than anything, I'm speaking on concepts. Each song has a meaning to it besides just jumping on a mic, which I've been known to do. But if everybody listens to this record and sticks in there with me, I also wanna say that Debonair and I are also planning to do a full-length album, which will include some of the songs from Sharp Objects. And on that album, I'm going to try to touch more angles that I can touch and there will be more of those punchlines and those metaphors. I gotta tell you this, too, before I gotta go. I really appreciate how you were able to point out that in the "Raw Factor 2," I was delivering the punchlines, but they were different. They weren't delivered in the way that let's say I would've done it back in the early nineties, because that would sound kinda corny now, certain things. So I gotta give it to you, your ear is immaculate, because you really peeked that out. So what I'm gonna do on the full-length record I'm gonna do, there's a record I'll preview for everybody right now... It's gonna be called "Return Of the One Liner." And we're gonna go for broke on those punchlines. And I"m gonna try to make them as witty as ever, but not corny. We're gonna see can I pull that off, Werner!

Omniscence Interview Preview

(The direct link to the Youtube vid shown above is here.)

Raw Factor 1.0

It doesn't scan that well; but the label
is actually a cool, reflective silver.

Don't get me wrong, "Raw Factor 2.0" was a good record, which I recommend... but it seemed a little bass ackwards to be getting 2.0 before getting the original. I'm pretty sure most of my readers know the story, but just to briefly recap: Omniscence is an ill, lyrical MC from North Carolina, who signed to East/West Records in the mid 90s. He put out a couple hot singles, got "Rhyme Of the Month" in The Source... but ultimately, the album never dropped. It was called Raw Factor and it was completed; but it never saw the light of day and fans have been holding the torch for this album over the decades. Well, finally, Dope Folks Records is putting it out... over a series of 12" singles. The first of which, titled Raw Factors, has just arrived.

So we have here the first three songs to be carried over from Omni and producer Fanatic's reels. And let me tell you, they have come out strong. even if you've downloaded the mixtape Omni released online years ago, you haven't heard these songs. There actually seem to be multiple, somewhat different mixes with mostly the same tracks but also some unique ones, floating around out there, all containing blends and snippets of songs from the ever-unreleased album. I've been going through all the ones I can find, and I'm pretty confident none of these three songs were ever included in any of those mixes - so these will be completely new to your ears.

Strictly speaking, however, only two were completely new to my ears.   You may've caught a post I made years ago about an Omniscence promo EP... a tape sent out to journalists in advance of the album that contained six songs that, at the time, everybody assumed would soon be featured on the upcoming Raw Factor album. Well, the last song on that 12", "Was It Just You," is the same as on that tape: "a smooth, cool out groove with some nice reggae verses at the beginning and end" (follow that link for a more substantial write-up with lyrics, etc). It's the same version... same beat, same rhymes, same hook. Now you can finally own it for yourself; I think you'll like it.

The other two songs are completely new to me, and what's more, I think they're two of his best cuts compared to any of the material from the mixtapes, singles, promo tape or anywhere else. "If You Got Beef" and the title track - finally we get to hear it - are two raw, freestyle tracks with Omni just going hard over some rugged beats. The punchlines he's so known for are definitely on hand.... but there's an edge here, further amplified by these two instrumentals, which are possibly the grittiest in his catalog. And he has a core of respectable authenticity that reminds me of Big L, as opposed to most "punchline rappers" who can come off as corny, bad stand-up comedians when they fill their songs with cheesy jokes, awkward similes and pop culture references. This 12" is a monster.

Now, coming with only three songs does seem a little light... how many volumes is it going to take for us to get the complete album? Eight? Yeesh. But this way, we do get the instrumental versions (all three are included on the B-side) that we never would've gotten had this album actually come out from East/West back in the day. So it's ultimately it's a superior product. And no matter how they organize them, come on, they're gonna be essential. After all, we've been waiting for this 1996.

Finally, an Obtainable Oneliner

So I mentioned earlier that we were in the midst of an Omniscence triumvirate; and here, finally, third part: Dope Folks Records has rereleased his incredibly rare and sought after EP, The Funky Oneliner. The Funky Oneliner originally came out in 1993 on 6th Boro Records - a small run on an indie label, making it one of records you rarely see, and when you do, it goes for hundreds and hundreds of dollars. So basically, unless you were rich or incredibly lucky, you couldn't have one. Until now, of course.

1993 means, yes, this came out before his all too brief stint on East/West Records. He was a virtual unknown, who only had one compilation appearance under his belt, so most the world slept on this at the time. It was only after he started making "Rhyme Of the Month" that heads went back and tried to track copies down.

Like the title suggests, dude had punchlines for days. And fortunately, they were more along the Big L/ Notorious BIG-style punchlines, focusing on wit rather than just pop culture references for their own sake. coming with a scratchy voice and smooth flow, he was accompanied by jazzy, understated production that was the perfect compliment for his style... not showy, just pure head nodders. With some nice, subtle scratch hooks by his DJ, T-Luv.

Of course, you know the production's gonna be hot just looking at the label. It's produced by Fanatic, The Funké Leftover. The same Fanatic from Bizzie Boyz and all those Payroll classics. The "Funké Leftover" part of his name is a reference to a project he was coming out with at the same time, being half of a crew two-man crew called The Funké Leftovers. I really wouldn't be surprised to see a Dope Folks release on them one of these days.

This EP actually isn't very long. It's just four songs, plus instrumentals. The original EP version also included Radio Edits for all four songs, but I'm happy to see them gone in favor of more vinyl space (quick rule of vinyl: the more music you cram onto a single side of wax, the worse the sound quality gets, which is why heads are often seeking out rarer, 2LP versions of albums). These songs sound great here. It's worth noting that one of the songs, "I Gotta Maintain" is the same as "Maintain" song I wrote about that was intended for his Rhyme Factor album. It's great to have it here, since that album never came out; but it's just interesting that he was intending to include an older track on his major label debut.

...Also, he takes a shot at Kane on this EP. What's the story behind that?

Anyway, as always, this is limited to 300 copies, and I think Dope Folks sold out even before they shipped. So if you see a copy, snatch it up quick. You don't want to have to end up paying through the nose like heads did for the OG pressing.

Once More Unto the Lab

(Youtube version is here.)

The Return Of Omniscence

Man, it is a good time to be an Omniscence fan. In fact, what with his debut album getting eaten alive by East/West Records, and plans for it to be finally released online decades later also never materializing, it may be the first really good time us Omniscence fans have during his twenty-plus year career. First we've got Dope Folks Records rereleasing his epically rare debut appearance on the Back To the Lab compilation (you can expect a blog about that soon, as well), and then they're also releasing his original indie debut EP, The Funky One Liner (more on that in a later post, too!). And on top of all that back catalog finally being put into the hands of his fans, he's got... brand new music?!

Gentleman's Relief Records, the same label that put out Low Budget's material, which you may remember me excitedly praising, has just put out a brand new, 7" single of new a (2012) Omniscence song: "Raw Factor 2.0." Raw Factor, as you may recall, was the title of his unreleased album; but seventeen years later with "2.0," we find he hasn't missed a beat.

Paying attention to his lyrics, we can tell this is brand new material, with references to internet porn and Debonair P (of Low Budget), his producer this time around. His rhymes - clever yet subtly using punchlines that manage to never cross the line into becoming too jokey or corny - his flow - smooth with a touch of gruffness - and even his production, all would have fit in perfectly on Raw Factor one, alongside his earlier singles like "Amazin'," without sounding the least bit out of place or time. Just check this syllable-flipping verse and tell me it's not completely in keeping with his "Rhyme of the Month" back in The Source so long ago:

"Let's raise the issue,
Hit you with the flavor crystals;
Who played with pistols,
And pushed the latest rentals;
Basic misuse of the supreme alphabetic,
How pathetic would you MCs be
If you had no promotion?
Back where you came from,
Doin' the locomotion.
Kill the commotion or get lost like Billy Ocean.
Suddenly, you try to bring trouble to me, G,
Strip your title like WBC.
My clique thorough rockin' with the sixth borough;
I leave that ass dizzy like my man Derrick Fitzgerald.
Omni, comin' back with no changes,
And to quote Ginuwine, 'I'm so anxious'
To get the show on the road,
You know like Lollapalooza.
This style y'all gotta get used ta.
But I've been doin' it too long to ruin it;
Fuck a dollar and a dream; I'm pursuin' it."

And Debonair doesn't try to stick Omni with that boogie sound he creates for his group (as much as I enjoy that); he comes with breaks and vibes just like Omni had back in the day. If you missed the old Omni stuff (you're missing out - go get his old 12"s, quick!), then think of Grand Puba's production, that cool vibe he had on tracks like "2000." And being a DJ, Debonair is more than capable to provide Omni with the kind of slick scratch hooks he favored back in the day, too.

So you get the main mix on side A, and a remix (also by Debonair P) on the flip. The remix is nice, too; basically swapping out one set of instrumentation for another, while keeping the same skeleton and scratches. It's hard to pick a favorite, I think it's just a question of which you're in the mood for - the A side is a little edgier, and the remix is a bit smoother. Both are very worth having.

This is available in a limited run of 300 7" singles, 150 of which were pressed on white (white) vinyl, and 150 on light blue. And they come in a hot picture cover, as you can see above.  And, further in keeping with bringing the spirit of '95 back to life, GRR is also pressing up a limited run of cassette singles, available soon.  Click here to go back in time. 8)