Elephant Eyes album acts as a narrative to Omen's personal life

Before we look at how the album narrates Omen's personal life,lets have a brief background information about the album. According to Wikipedia it states that,"Elephant Eyes is the debut studio album by American rapper Omen and was released on July 21,2015 by Dreamville Records. It includes features from Dreamville artists J. Cole,Ari Lennox and Bas, as well as CJ Hamilton. Elephant Eyes served as Ari Lennox's introduction to Dreamville. Omen introduced her to J. Cole which eventually led to her signing to the label".

From my point of view,this proves that without Omen,Ari Lennox would not have been signed to Dreamville in the first place. Moreover,the fact that Omen's album Elephant Eyes served as Ari Lennox's introduction to Dreamville shows that the album reveals a lot more than just his personal life. Therefore,the title of the album could mean that everything is revealed,the past,his achievements,his interaction with others,his character,only to mention a few.

There are various ways in which the album Elephant Eyes acts as a narrative to Omen's personal life. From my point of view,the title of the album Elephant Eyes has a special meaning. An elephant is known to be unusually large and powerful. Then if we look at the word, "eyes" ,in this case it means the ability to understand and appreciate something seen. Therefore if we put both words "elephant" and "eyes", the album could be talking about Omen's success as a rapper and how he has learnt to appreciate that despite the challenges he faced. Moreover if we look at the album cover below, there seems to be different characters e.g. a woman(probably inside Omen's mind),probably showing different emotions like sadness.

The sadness seems to be shown where there's a cloud with rain drops. Lastly,this seems to be Omen thinking about his past hence proving that Omen is using the album to narrate his personal life.

Dreamville has mentioned why the album Elephant Eyes was released. According to Dreamville they stated that,"Omen's long awaited Dreamville debut details his journey towards success and love through an honest recollection of his memories. Elephants never forget". This explains why the album has different emotions. Moreover this proves that the album Elephant Eyes acts as a narrative to Omen's personal life.

Omen gives a reason why Elephant Eyes album came to existence. According to djbooth.net:The Reintroduction of Dreamville's Omen:"I'm In a Good Place by Hibak Mohamed,April 25,2019, Omen stated that,"It came from a darker place. I had put out 'Afraid of Heights' ". He is making reference to the album. Moreover Omen said,"Had Kendrick and Cole on the album. I was thinking like 'Oh I'm out of here,an easy win'. I put the album out and the internet was kinda checking for it but my actual life didn't change at all. I was still in my Grandma's house. I would go out and no one knew or cared about the album". The album Elephant Eyes was removed immediately at first because it was making noise as it is stated by DJ Booth. This is why Omen said on the interview with Hibak Mohamed,"I adress a lot of that on the new album. I talk about what's been happening in the last few years just to give people an update. I had a whole lot of life changes I wasn't tweeting about". From the information above,the fact that no one noticed that Omen's album Afraid Of Heights had artists like Kendrick Lamar and Cole highlights the true struggles of being a rapper and a musician. However Omen did not give up which is why on the album Elephant Eyes he gives an update of what has been happening in his life. He wants people to relate to success and challenges he has faced hence proving that Elephant Eyes acts as a narrative to Omen's personal life.

The Tracklist:

1. Motion Picture 2. LoveDrug feat. CJ Hamilton 3. Same Jezebel 4. Elephant Eyes 5. Father Figure 6. Sketches of Paranoia feat. Bas 7. Sweat it out feat. Ari Lennox 8. Foolish pride 9. Big Shadows 10. Things Change feat. J. Cole 11. Zion

From the track list above,all songs narrate Omen's personal life however I will only mention some of them.

Omen is working hard to become a successful rapper. This is shown on the song Motion Picture. According to Evan Vogel on his music review about Elephant Eyes, he states that "Omen is concerned with evaluating his growth as an individual throughout his writing". This is shown on the lyrics below:

"Populate my flow with concentrated growth/Hear my verses,hear my beats,you know I dominate at both.."

Moreover,from my point of view,Omen is also revealing a lot more about his character. This is shown on the chorus:

"There's a million words hiding in my silence There's a graveyard hiding in my closet Can't be that same dude chillin on the corner So what you waiting on,tell me do you want it Look through my eyes maybe you can see the riot Have you ever heard a storm that was quiet? Can't be that same dude chillin' on the corner So what you waiting on,tell me do you want it? "

From the lyrics above,there are some interpretations drawn from it. Where it says,"....million words hiding in my silence " probably shows that he is a quiet person especially in the rap game. Moreover the use of repetition of the phrase,"Can't be that same dude chillin on the corner" probably is making reference to him being a shadow in the rap game and now he wants to change that. This is probably one of the reasons why the song Motion Picture featured on the album/mixtape,Revenge of the Dreamers. This was probably used to introduce Omen as a member of Dreamville and to showcase his talent in the rap game. Therefore where it says,"So what you waiting on, tell me do you want it" is probably Omen thinking out loud. He gives himself pep talk to stop hiding behind the shadows and start showcasing his talent in the rap game. This shows that he never gives up on his dreams hence showing the reason why the album narrates his life.

The song LoveDrug seems to mention the society's addiction to social media and the necessity to be noticed as mentioned by Evan Vogel. This is shown in one of the intro's:

"Should I enjoy my time in re..you know,real life in person right now and then take a picture after,or should I take a picture and send it to a hundred thousand of my followers so we can all enjoy this together?"

Evan Vogel also stated that,"It has been a huge topic in the last couple of years but has rarely been addressed within hip-hop so completely. His rhythm and flow are perfectly synced with that of the beat and lead the way to a simple meaningful chorus that works greatly". From my point of view,the fact that the topic addiction to social media has been rarely addressed within hip-hop clearly shows that the song LoveDrug is unique. This shows that Omen is not only a successful rapper but someone who explores important issues faced in today's society.

From my point of view the song LoveDrug also shows Omen's dream of becoming a successful rapper. This is shown on the lyrics below:

"..Since a youngin' I been dreaming about being rich and famous from entertainment..."

Moreover where it says:

"Yeah, I need more,I need to be televised, I need to be recognized"

is probably making reference to not giving up his dream of becoming a successful rapper. This is why I believe the album acts as a narrative to his life.

The title of the song Elephant Eyes is one of the most important tracks. According to Evan Vogel he states that "By the time you get to the title track Elephant Eyes, Omen has established himself as a visual person. His depictions are vivid,down to pointing out a new haircut a fling of his got recently. The elephant eyes are a reference to the fact that he has seen so much in his life and never forgets". This is why I said the title could be talking about Omen's success as a rapper and how he has learnt to appreciate that despite the challenges he faced.

Moreover if we look at the lyrics,it shows where he got the nickname Elephant Eyes.

"..I need you back girl,you were good, don't need these bad girls /Remember you called me Elephant Eyes, I never forget that nickname/Remembering all them times we had"

The fact that Omen produced the song Elephant Eyes and that he got the nickname from a woman he liked clearly shows the song is very important to him. This explains why on the album cover there is a woman shown. Elephant Eyes could also be interpreted as seeing everything in perspective.

The song Elephant Eyes is important to Omen because he is making reference to a relationship with his father. This is shown on the lyrics:

[Outro Skit] "My son,I heard from him the other day,I was so embarrassed I gotta program his number into my phone So I can stop asking 'who is this?'Ay,I don't,we live in separate cities,I don't know him that good. I think he 'bout 11 now. I explained to him what happened,you know. You know I moved to LA,right as me and your mam was messing around ,and you know it was either career or get to know you,you know,I gotta do what I gotta do. Yeah I don't know him that good,but he seems like a nice young man"

This shows that Omen's relationship with his father was strained because the father seemed to have chosen his career over his son (Omen). The fact that Omen opens up about his private life proves that he wants his listeners to understand his background. This is why after the track there is a song called Father Figure where Omen is yearning for a father figure in his life. As stated by Evan Vogal,"His song about a lack of his birth father in his life is incredibly uplifting ". This is because listeners can relate to this song especially those who don't have birth fathers. This proves that the album narrates Omen's personal life where Omen wants to uplift those who don't have birth fathers in their lives.

The song Things Change mentions how everything can change. According to Evan Vogel he states that,"The song Things Change with the man himself J. Cole ,illustrates a sense of acceptance of the fact that things won't always be the same and your question 'why?' won't always be answered. This is shown on the lyrics below:

[J. Cole] "Cause things change,I'm still getting used to me/ I ain't that old shy nigga that I used to be"

Moreover,Genius stated that,"Cole portrays his rise to fame affected his relationship,reflecting on the past love. Omen's verse also pays particular attention to a girl that once meant everything to him-noting that she was the one responsible for giving him his Elephant Eyes nickname". This is why I said the song Elephant Eyes is very important to Omen. The two rappers sharing their past experiences clearly shows that they want the listeners to relate to their stories. This explains why the album Elephant Eyes not only narrates Omen's life but in a way relates J.Cole's life as well.

In conclusion,the album Elephant Eyes not only focuses on narrating Omen's personal life but also served as Ari Lennox's introduction to Dreamville. The song Things Change also narrates J. Cole's past. The album is all about Omen's success as a rapper and how he has learnt to appreciate that despite the challenges he faced.