TikTok’s viral ‘Eye of Rah’ meme explained

The ‘Eye of Rah’ meme is going viral on TikTok and other social media platforms. If you’re out of the loop, here’s everything you need to know about it.

The ‘Eye of Rah,’ also known as the Eye of Ra, is a viral TikTok meme featuring a photoshopped image of TikToker Rashad Bowens (lilbotheme) with a single cyclopean eye and his iconic red dreadlocks. It gained traction in early January 2025, blending absurd edits with other trending memes.

Bowens, known for his reaction stitches and bold red hair that sometimes sticks straight up, became the face of the “Eye of Rah” after TikToker Jeremiah Springfield created the original edit.

Inspired by the Hood Cryptids trend, Springfield took a popular video of Bowens and altered it, giving him one eye and a flame-like hairstyle.

Origins of the ‘Eye of Rah’ meme

The roots of this trend date back to December 2022, when Bowens posted a now-iconic stitch. In the clip, he interrupts a man salting a cucumber, exclaiming, “Ay, yo, chill the f**k out, yo!” The video garnered over 597,700 views and 66,500 likes on TikTok.

On November 26, 2024, Jeremiah Springfield posted an edited version of this video, adding the cyclopean eye and one red dread extending straight up. The edit quickly became a hit, receiving over 1.8 million plays and 292,000 likes.

Shortly after, TikTok user zketchum commented, “Eye of Ra,” on the video, a play on words likely riffing on the mythical Curse of Ra. The comment itself received over 21,000 likes, cementing the name.

As the meme gained popularity, it evolved into increasingly surreal and humorous edits. For instance, Instagram user skaxta posted a version on December 22 that featured a single frame of Bowens as the cyclops with fiery CapCut effects, garnering over 451,100 likes.

By January 2025, the “Eye of Rah” meme began merging with other viral trends like “I Bought a Property in Egypt” and “Chopped Chin,” resulting in absurd “brainrot” content.

One of the most popular examples, posted on January 4 by TikToker .bob911_, combined all three trends, racking up over 2.4 million views.

While some viewers are baffled by its viral success, the ‘Eye of Rah’ meme continues to thrive on TikTok, Instagram, and X, with many posts amassing millions of views.

This is just one of the latest trends gaining traction on TikTok, alongside the “I’ve played these games before” Squid Game meme and the ‘pretending I got into Harvard’ craze.