Live at the Apollo

Grammy nominee Omar Apollo is coming into his own.

- cat cardenas

 like to go where things are uncomfortable, or complex,” says Omar Apollo. “Making music isn’t easy. That’s why I’ve dedicated a lot of my life to it.” It’s also why the 26-year-old musician hasn’t taken much of a break since releasing his debut album, Ivory, in 2022. A lush blend of R&B and hip-hop along with Latin trap and Mexican corridos, Ivory revealed Apollo’s chameleonic versatility and earned the singer-songwriter his first Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Not long after, he left his home base of LA to open for SZA on the North American leg of her arena SOS tour. “It’s not my show, so I was kind of scared of how the crowds would react,” he says. But “seeing people’s expressions, it ’s huge.” In October, Apollo released