The Eye of Rah meme features a photoshopped image of a Black man with one cyclops-like eye and a single red dread, originating from TikToker Jeremiah Springfield’s edit of fellow TikToker Rashad Bowens. It is symbolic of the ongoing social media trend, started in 2024, of brain rot and sludge content videos.
The meme blends with other trending memes, highlighting the evolving nature of digital humor that is difficult to explain to people outside of online social circles.
Meme basics
- Meme/trend creator: @frightenedsheep25937582
- Meme type: Brain rot, sludge video
- First appearance: November 26, 2024
- Origin source: TikTok
- Used to convey: nonsense brainrot
- Peak popularity: January 5-11, 2025
What does Eye of Ra mean?
The “Eye of Rah” meme draws from the ancient Egyptian symbol linked to the sun god Ra, representing vengeance and protection.
According to Medium, the Eye of Rah (or Ra) was quite literally the eye of Ra, but was considered a goddess in her own right with her own powers.
They write, “The Eye of Ra was usually a female goddess and acted as a counterpart to the male god. This goes back to the tradition of dualism that encapsulated the ideology of Ancient Egypt. […] The Eye of Ra was his protector and hence, she was a violent and aggressive force that defeated the enemies of Ra.”
Origin and spread
Rashad Bowens (@eyeofrahoffical and @bothemess), who is the face of the ‘Eye of Rah’ meme and TikTok trend, is an aspiring boxer and TikTok creator known for his blunt, dry-humored reaction videos. In one of these videos, posted on Dec. 12, 2022, Bowens interrupts a cooking video, which caught the attention of Jeremiah Springfield (@frightenedsheep25937582) in late November 2024.
Springfield altered the original reaction video, transforming Bowens into a cyclops with a single, upward-pointing bright red dread, giving rise to the viral ‘Eye of Rah’ trend.
In response to the Daily Dot via TikTok DM, Springfield said: “I find the trend genuinely funny, i love how people take the video I edited of rashad bowens getting turned into a cyclope with one stiff red dread and make their own versions and remixes of it. Even tho i feel like i am not getting as much recognition for the original clip as i should, i am very glad people enjoy and laugh at the video and at the numerous videos that emerge with it.”
@eyeofrahoffical #stitch with @meka716_ ♬ original sound – Rashad Bowens
Bowens meanwhile, found inspiration in virality of the meme. He told the Daily Dot, “I think it’s really an eye opener for people that’s trying to do anything in life because all it took was one video and the right person to see it. And next thing you know I’m a viral sensation. It didn’t happen overnight but it definitely happened at the right time as soon as I thought about giving up on content I became global.”
Popularity
The Eye of Rah meme trend most likely evolved from 2023’s viral ‘Curse of Ra’ copypasta, which humorously depicted modern-day people haunted by mummy curses. The meme taps into the absurdity of ancient curses affecting today’s world, blending surreal humor with a touch of mythological flair.
While Springfield’s first video was published on Nov. 27, 2024, it blew up in popularity on TikTok and Reels in early January 2025. People commented on the original edit calling Bowens the “eye of rah [sic]” and blew up the video to 1.8 million views. Bowens himself has changed his profile picture to the meme cyclops edit that Springfield photoshopped, embracing his internet fame with it.
It has since been added to the ‘sludge videos’ that are everywhere on social media right now, featuring brain rot trends such as I Bought a Property in Egypt, where the original white man in a dark suit warps and transforms into Bowens as the Eye of Ra. These videos and trends seem to be meant to be absurdist, modern Dadaist videos without any real meaning behind them beyond their entertainment value.
Meme examples
More brain rot memes:
- Who is Amir the Uber Eats Guy, and why is he a meme?
- ‘Sigma Sigma Boy’ goes TikTok viral
- Explaining ‘That Feeling When Knee Surgery Is Tomorrow’ memes
- Brainrot memes are bussin, skibidi, goated with the sauce
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