The Block Beat multimedia series is a collaboration with The TRiiBE that roots Chicago musicians in places and neighborhoods that matter to them.
Written by Arthur E. Haynes IIPhotography by ThoughtPoet
Video by Alex Y. DingShot at Nat King Cole Park, 361 E. 85th
Except for his production on “BMO,” a single from Ari Lennox‘s new Shea Butter Baby, fans haven’t heard from Omen for almost four years—not since December 2015, when he contributed fan favorites “48 Laws” and “Caged Bird” to the Dreamville label compilation Revenge of the Dreamers II. But last month Dreamville gave fans their first taste of the long-awaited follow-up Revenge of the Dreamers III: the rapid-fire “Down Bad,” featuring Earthgang, J. Cole, Bas, J.I.D, and Young Nudy, plus the mellow, melodic “Got Me,” with Lennox, Ty Dolla Sign, Dreezy, and Omen. The album’s release date was just announced as Friday, July 5, and this week two more songs dropped: “Lambo Truck” (with Cozz, Reason, and Childish Major) and “Costa Rica” (whose long list of credits includes Guapdad 4000, Reese LaFlare, Smokepurpp, Buddy, and Ski Mask the Slump God).
“So on the big court, it was a privilege to even get on that court,” he says. “And you had to basically win so you can stay on.” For Omen, who hasn’t yet achieved the star status of labelmate J. Cole, the parallels to the industry couldn’t be more clear.
Omen started playing piano very young, but music wasn’t a priority for him yet. He had hoop dreams. In grammar school, after class he’d head straight to Cole Park, where he and his friends would get on the court and hoop.
Omen kept playing until his sophomore year at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he majored in creative writing. It was then that he came to terms with a hard truth: he wasn’t going to the NBA.
Omen is now a full-time rapper and producer, but he remembers working three jobs at once in 2010, early in his New York years—the Gap, a tennis club, and a telemarketing call center. He also hasn’t forgotten that the road to Dreamville took him through Cole Park. After a hiatus of almost four years, he has the ball back in his court. ROTD III and his long-awaited second solo album will give him the chance to cement his position in the game. His previous work with Dreamville has earned him admission to the big court; now he has to show the world that he deserves to stay on.
