Artist Profile: Omega Nova
Omega Nova, the storied rapper from Oxnard, California, has been spinning lyrically-dense, abstract-inspired tracks for over a decade now, and, with each new artist and producer he works with, a new dimension of his sound is opened and unlocked, cementing him as one of the most intriguing underground artists in the rap game right now.
As a child, Omega Nova was exposed to the oldies of his parents, but he didn’t truly find his musical awakening until a friend in middle school exposed him to the annals of underground hip-hop. From Madlib and Lootpack to MF DOOM and everything in between, Omega quickly fell in love with the capacity for wordplay and worldbuilding that these artists possessed.
Yet, despite his growing obsession, he did not come close to considering himself as a rapper until much later. Even when he made about 10 songs at a friend’s house, rapping over Youtube beats and famous instrumentals, their lack of reception online discouraged him: a fact that he now attributes to a lack of knowledge about beginning a music career.
It was only later, as he slowly discovered his aptitude for penmanship and his penchant for sampling, that he began to see his innate talent in the art form.
“In that process, I was trying to find my sound, I'm like, ‘Okay, what do I want my music to sound like? Where is it coming from? So I feel like that was the hard part. I've always been interested in words; that's why I rap… so I feel like that part always kind of came naturally as far as writing.”
His earliest projects, which aren’t available on streaming, showcased a preeminent penchant for West Coast sounds and densly-packed rhymes, displaying the artist’s development into an adroitly skilled lyricist in real-time.
Yet, with the release of his album, Omega Nobody, in 2019, his career took an upward turn. Not only was it his first project that really got traction online, but it also enabled him to begin performing shows in Los Angeles area: a pursuit that helped him to gain and identify a solid following for the first time.
From there, Omega has never stopped experimenting, releasing eight projects since 2019 and taking his sound to new heights with each successive venture. Yet, although he frequently produces for himself, he attributes a signficant portion of his artistic growth to his willingness and ability to work with other producers.
“I feel like how I grow my sound is I work with producers… ‘cause every producer is different. They all bring a different energy to their beats, which brings out a different energy in me. You know what I mean? It's always something different and sometimes I'll take things or they'll make beats that present different ideas to me that I probably wouldn't have thought of myself, but because they brought it to me I have time to look at it, assess it.”
Now, having rapped for over a decade, Omega plans to take somewhat of a step back from rap, giving himself a chance to not only pursue his other creative ventures but also to re-analyze his sound, gaining life experiences that will replenish his internal store of material. Moreover, his 2024 EP “Late Bloomers & Omega Nova”, which was a collaboration between Omega and Oxnard indie band Late Bloomers, will serve as a template for the sort of genre-exploration Omega wants to pursue as he enters a new era.
“I feel like I have to step back from rapping and just experience life to get more sh*t to rap about. I always feel mad inspired from love and heartbreak or just life hardships… but it's hard to just pull sh*t out of thin air, you know? I could tell when I'm phoning it in, and I don't want to do that. I don't want to make sh*t I don't like or sh*t I'm going to regret later.”
