The Raw Factor by Omniscence

 

Originally scheduled for release way back in March 1996, “The Raw Factor” by North Carolina native Omniscence is one of the last of the unreleased mid-90’s albums to see the light of day. Despite being awarded The Source’s coveted “Hip Hop Quotable” and dropping two well-received singles (“Amazin” and “Touch Y’all”), record label politics meant the full-length “The Raw Factor” album was never released and fans were left wondering what might have been.

28 years later, “The Raw Factor” is finally being released on vinyl, CD and digital stores. Featuring punchline-driven lyrics from Omniscence delivered in his unmistakable cadence, and backed by head-nodding production from Fanatic, the album is a must-own for fans of 90’s Hip Hop.

Omniscence haunted the same early 90's cyphers and stages that many lyrical greats from the era had to cross. With a gruff delivery and equal adeptness with punchlines and metaphors, his high finish at the 1994 edition Battle For World Supremacy at the New Music Seminar assured heads across the culture were watching. After this, Omniscence locked in with producer Fanatic (who also laced tracks for Notorious B.I.G., Ma$e and Michael Jackson). The result was “The Raw Factor” album, fifteen plus tracks of jazzed out boom-bap, replete with crackin' drums.

Now Below System Records has not only given the album its first deluxe physical release (including 2xLP, CD and digital) as well as a slew of bonus/unreleased tracks. 

Omniscence - Stage Presence (feat. Toz Torcha)

Originally slated for release in 1996, North Carolina's Omniscence's "The Raw Factor" is one of the last of the mid-90's unreleased albums to see the light of day. Despite earning The Source's coveted "Hip Hop Quotable" and dropping two well-received singles ("Amazin'" and "Touch Y'all"), record label politics meant the full-length "The Raw Factor" was never released, leaving fans to wonder what might have been.

28 years later, "The Raw Factor" finally arrives on vinyl, CD and digital stores. Featuring punchline-driven lyrics from Omniscence delivered in his signature cadence and backed by head-nodding production from Fanatic, the album is a must-have for fans of 90's hip-hop.

The vinyl and digital versions include 4 previously unreleased bonus tracks from the same era. The CD version contains 2 bonus tracks.

About the single:

"Stage Presence" is a vintage, unreleased single by North Carolina rhyme veteran Omniscence. The song was recorded in 1996, shortly after the recording of what would become his major label debut album, "The Raw Factor". Featuring an appearance from fellow NC spitter Toz Torcha (then of local crew The Vandalz), it's a vintage, head-nodding 90's hip-hop track. The single is produced by Fanatic, who also produced all but one track on The Raw Factor.

Recalling the track, Omniscence said, "It was originally intended as a B-side to a future single from the album. In the intro, you can hear me describing the scene at DJ Clark Kent's 1994 MC Battle for World Supremacy in New York City, which I was competing in. The guy I was up against was declared the winner, but the crowd wanted a rematch because many felt I won.

Stage Presence (feat. Toz Torcha) by Omniscence

 

"Stage Presence" is a vintage, unreleased single by North Carolina rap veteran Omniscence. The song was recorded in 1996, shortly after the recording of what would become his major label debut album, "The Raw Factor". Featuring an appearance from fellow NC spitter Toz Torcha (then of local crew The Vandalz), it's a vintage, head-nodding 90's hip-hop track. The single is produced by Fanatic, who also produced all but one track on The Raw Factor.

Recalling the track, Omniscence said, "It was originally intended as a B-side to a future single from the album. In the intro, you can hear me describing the scene at DJ Clark Kent's 1994 MC Battle for World Supremacy in New York City, which I was competing in. The guy I was up against was declared the winner, but the crowd wanted a rematch because many felt I won.

Despite releasing two singles from the album (earning him a hip-hop quote in The Source Magazine), label politics caused "The Raw Factor" to be shelved. This prompted the emcee to take a break from the game (a break that would last decades). With the release of "Stage Presence," Below System Records announces the DSP release of The Raw Factor this spring (with additional unreleased tracks from the same period) as well as its first-ever vinyl (2xLP to be exact) edition to be released this summer.