Who Is Omar Apollo? And Why Is His Music So Good?

If you don't already know Omar Apollo, here's your chance to get familiar before he's fully become a household name. Long before he went all the more viral on TikTok, Omar Apollo had been building an incredibly sturdy foundation for his triumphant musical career. Now, it's paying off as he's becoming one of the most highly regarded musical talents out right now.

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Where do we start with Omar Apollo and his incredible journey? Well, the story starts in the state of Indiana, where his parents immigrated to from Guadalajara, Mexico. At the young age of 12, his parents gifted him his first guitar: an electric, which he would soon trade for an acoustic at a pawn shop. From watching YouTube cover videos, practicing singing in his church choir, to learning even more guitar skills from his uncle, Omar Apollo was planting seeds to be the best at what he loved most: music. While working at Jimmy John's and Guitar Center and living in an attic, he made his first bout of traction as an artist by dropping songs on SoundCloud.

Indiana was where Omar began exploring his creativity and forming relationships that would help propel him way more than he probably expected at the time. Like Lonewolf, for instance. This talented videographer and director has become renowned for the unparalleled style within his noteworthy videos, but before the music industry was swooning over him, he was creating works of art in Indiana with Omar Apollo. We're talking over 5 years ago, to be exact. Now, that's early.

As he was emerging beyond the state of Indiana (and SoundCloud) with the help of his manager Dylan Shanks, Omar started touring the country, and then the world, as he kicked off his first European tour back in 2019. In the time since, he's only continued to blossom as an artist, striking up relationships with some of the biggest artists in the world, like Tyler, the Creator, for example. Additionally, he's been showing off his talent to the world on platforms like NPR's Tiny Desk, which is all you need to see to be a fully certified Omar stan.

Omar's catalog of music is pretty expansive. Starting with his debut EP, Stereo, back in 2018, Omar continued to drop impressive music over and over again. Next up was his second EP in 2019, Friends, which was then followed by his debut mixtape, Apolonio, in 2020. Around this time, Omar started sharing his collaborations with Kenny Beats, which only added fuel to the fire. He'd then go on to appear on Kenny's show, The Cave. Most recently, Omar dropped off an album in 2022 called Ivory, which was followed up by a deluxe version, Ivory (Marfil). The project featured just two artists: Daniel Caesar and Kali Uchis.

Thanks to his knack for music and his ever-personable demeanor, Omar Apollo is winning over the hearts of the masses, and day by day, his audience is increasing exponentially. Whether you found his music from SoundCloud, Lonewolf, Kenny Beats, Spotify, or even TikTok, one thing's for sure: you've gotta love Omar Apollo.

Be sure to catch his performance at the upcoming March Madness Festival, alongside Megan Thee Stallion, J.I.D., Maggie Rogers, Lil Nas X, Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, and Mickey Guyton.