In addition to putting the finishing touches on his upcoming project, Afraid of Heights, the Chicago bred artist (and I mean that in the truest sense of the word) recently sat down with both, Street Logik and Shauna "Elle" Barbosa to deliver what I believe to be two of the most intriguing interviews I've read all week (side note: Street Logik interview was done March 15); I learned a lot about and from him in these interviews (And to think, I play tetris with this guy online). The transcript of the Street Logic interview is listed below; I'll post the interview with SB later.
P.S. Gotta love those "career goals" as well.
"The folks over at www.Streetlogik.com recently gave me an interview, and posted it up on their site. Here is the transcript. Hope you enjoy the words...
You’re pretty new to the game, tell us a little about yourself?
Omen: My name is Omen, I’m a musician born and raised in Chicago. I’m a person that really dreams big and is always trying to grow.
What made you decide to pursue a career in the music industry and how long have you been making music?
Omen: I’ve been playing piano since I was like 14 off and on, I’ve been rapping for about 8 years now and producing for 5 of those years. Music is just something that’s always been in my family, whether it was just being played or actual family members pursuing it as well. So it’s always been a love of mine, but it took me awhile to really take it seriously. I was focused on hoop dreams like every other guy in my neighborhood.
Who are your musical influences?
Omen: Rap wise, my biggest influences were probably Nas, and Common early on. Right now, I’m not really directly influenced by any one person, I just get inspired by different people’s songs or careers. I think the more you grow, the less you are influenced by someone else; and more so by your own life, things you see, hear, read, and just your own world.
The word “omen” usually has a negative connotation attached to it although your music has a sense of heightened awareness. What made you choose the name Omen?
Omen: Omen is a name that really has nothing to do with the devil or whatever else. It’s just that movie that created that. The real meaning is more of a sign of things to come, whether positive or negative. It’s a symbol of change, and it has a certain divinity to it. I’m a pretty spiritual guy, so it just felt right when I was choosing a name. It also was a high school nickname.
Many people will agree that a rap song is simply poetry over a beat. Being a poet as well as a rap artist, would you agree or disagree with that statement? And do you incorporate your poetry into your music?
Omen: Well, poetry is such a like subjective thing to me. It’s kind of hard to determine what’s poetry on a beat and what’s just rap, you know? It’s more so a person’s preference that will determine that for them. But with that said I do write poetry every blue moon, but rarely put them to music. However, I am considering putting this poetry joint I did on the upcoming mixtape. We’ll see though.
Tell us a little about what your working on as of now.
Omen: My upcoming project is actually a mixtape called Afraid of Heights. The sampler I released a little while ago, Delayed, is just a precursor to this project. It’s coming along nicely. I’m handling the majority of the production, and I have some pretty cool features on it so far. Other than my own production, so far the only other producer on it is Volatile, who’s an ill overall artist that you all should be hearing about soon. I’m still writing though, so you may see Elite or some others on production as well. But it’s important to me that people see that I’m more than a rapper right now.
Who would you give your right arm to work with in the music industry? Producers?
Omen: I’m a big fan of tons of producers in the industry. My favorite producer of all time was Dilla. And that’s probably one of the only times a person I had never met that had passed, impacted me like a family member or friend. Working with him was a big goal on my checklist and it’s just something that I’ll never be able to complete. So that one kind of hurt. I’m not giving my right arm for anybody though (laughs) maybe my momma…maybe (laughs).
What is your ultimate career goal?
Omen: I honestly don’t have one ultimate career goal because there are too many things that I feel are equally important. I could say something vague like, to be successful or to add value to people’s lives but what does that really mean? I just wanna continue to grow as a person, as a musician, and as a writer. I want people to love the music, I want financial freedom. I want people to connect with the emotion of the music and for my time here to make things better for people in some way. Before I’m done, getting actual critical acclaim from some of the greats like Stevie Wonder or Quincy Jones wouldn’t hurt either.
What are some of your upcoming projects?
Omen: Right now, my main focus is the upcoming mixtape, Afraid of Heights, and making it incredible by my standards. People can look forward to more videos for songs from the sampler and for the upcoming mixtape from Impakt Studio. I’m doing production for a couple singers and maybe some interesting collabs coming soon as well.
Any shout outs?
Omen: Yep. Shout out to The Bulls, The Lakers, The Last Dragon, Harold’s Chicken Shack, Gucci Driver Shoes, Air Jordans, my momma, and God."
Props to Dopart Academy and Street Logik
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