Dreamville's Omen Discusses Stepping Out Of J. Cole's Shadow On 'Elephant Eyes'

Omen had a listening party for his Elephant Eyes album Tuesday (July 7) at No Excuses in Santa Monica, California.

The Dreamville emcee started the evening by explaining the creative process for the album. He has been working on Elephant Eyes since 2012. About 70 songs were recorded for the project before the final tracklist was cut to 11 songs, nine of which he produced.

The project opens with "Motion Picture," a cut from Dreamville's 2014 collaborative mixtape Revenge of the Dreamers.

On "Big Shadows," Omen discusses trying to create his own brand under J. Cole's stardom. The 32-year-old rapper says that he and Cole started making music together before the North Carolina emcee blew up. From then on, Omen had to deal with being called Cole's "protege" even though he is older and considered himself on an equal playing field.

The next track, "Things Change," features Cole and shows how Omen has found peace being his own artist.

The final song, "Zion," is a celebration of the women in Omen's life who have helped him through his difficulties.

The title Elephant Eyes comes from a nickname given to Omen from a woman he used to be in a relationship with. It is also based on the saying, "elephants never forget."

"That's the fake-deep answer," he says. "What I'm telling you is things I've never forgotten."

Bas also appears on the project, leaving Cozz as the only Dreamville artist who is not featured. The Los Angeles rapper joined in the question and answer session, pretending to be a fan asking why he was left out of the project.

"I didn't want to get outshined," Omen laughs.

Omen announced that Elephant Eyes will be released next week.

[HHDX]