Omen
Album: Elephant Eyes
Release Date: July 21, 2015
‘Elephant Eyes’ is the first studio album from Dreamville artist Omen. He lays all of his insecurities out on the table for all to see as he takes us with him as he recounts his past memories, letting us know that he’s still a work in progress. This album is definitely worth both your money and your time and you will find yourself listening to the entire album on repeat. Omen has to be my favorite Dreamville artist aside from J. Cole because of his ability to relate and connect with his audience as is the trend amongst the Dreamville imprint. His voice accompanied by his powerful lyrics reassures us that it’s okay to not be perfect. After listening to it well over 50 times all the way through I can honestly say that I enjoyed each and every song on ‘Elephant Eyes.’
After three years of waiting, Omen delivered 11 heart filled tracks, most of which were produced by him. The first track on the album, “Motion Picture,” was released prior to Elephant Eye’s release on the Dreamville mixtape ‘Revenge of the Dreamers’ and is a fan favorite. The track “Love Drug” addresses the social issue of needing to be loved and noticed. The track “Sweat It Out”, featuring the lovely Ari Lennox, tells us about fated but unlikely love that beat all of the odds. Omen let us into his head on the track “Big Shadows” as he told us about some of the downfalls of being signed to one of the greatest rappers alive (J. Cole) and how hard it is to retain your identity as a rapper when you’re constantly being compared to your shadow.
Of the few features on ‘Elephant Eyes,’ of course the track entitled “Things Change” that featured J. Cole would receive high praise. Cole opens the track in his usual fashion, but he surprisingly wasn’t the highlight of this track for me, Omen was. He attacked the track as if he was determined to not be outshined by his old friend. Omen may have made us wait three years to experience the confirmed class that is ‘Elephant Eyes, but it was most definitely worth it. ‘Elephant Eyes’ receives 10 stars out of 10 stars.