Omar Apollo discusses God Said No, his drive, and success on the cover of Attitude
Exclusive: "I don’t feel successful because I don’t feel like I’ve done what I wanted to do musically at all," Omar Apollo has told Attitude
Omar Apollo is Attitude’s latest cover star and is the epitome of baby girl vibes in a colourful photoshoot.
In an exclusive interview for the September/October issue – available for preorder – the GRAMMY-nominated singer, 27, discussed his latest album, God Said No, as well as the connection between that and Ivory, his debut studio album.
“I have a spiritual answer for this, but we don’t have to go there,” Omar told Attitude via Zoom from Sydney during his interview. “Well, there’s a spiritual thread woven between the two albums, [with] Ivory [symbolising] an elephant.
“Elephants have small eyes, and in India they’re known as these massive creatures who don’t know how big they are and how much destruction they can cause. They’re still peaceful. That’s representative of Ivory. On the cover, my face looks young and naive, there’s no beard and I’m shirtless, standing there with the arms crossed, unaware of where life would propel me.
“On God Said No, it’s me wearing $100,000 earrings, jewellery, and a fur coat — a lot more glamorous — realising, I guess, the size of the elephant. The album is about what happens when you realise these things, and the grief that follows you and lingers and [makes] you want to go back to this naive state.”
“There are always other goals; I’m always wanting more” – Omar Apollo
It would seem there’s been quite a transformation for the artist. Asked if he feels different from when he started working on God Said No, Omar says: “I’m happy that it’s completed. But I think once an artist feels successful, they stop becoming an artist. I have this ambition and drive that I hope doesn’t stop.”
He continues: “I don’t feel successful because I don’t feel like I’ve done what I wanted to do musically at all. There are always other goals; I’m always wanting more. But the goals, they’re more internal.” He further clarifies, “They’re not accolades. I want to create a piece of music that’s interpreted for 200 years like Claude Debussy or Ryuichi Sakamoto — it’s so well known that you forget who even made it. I’ll go to the studio and record piano for six hours trying to come up with the line that mimics that energy. The goals don’t stop.”
This drive, he shares, comes from his parents who, when Omar was growing up in Indiana, had two jobs each. He recalls his dad waking up at 6am and not returning until 11pm. His mum was the same. “They were just like, ‘We gotta get food on the table.'” Omar has the same energy but “a more creative approach.”
He adds: “They gave me the luxury of thinking outside of survival. I was able to think about what I wanted to do with my life because they were doing all the work. They came from Mexico. They wanted me to have a better life.”
Words Alastair James Photography Ryan Pfluger Fashion direction Joseph Kocharian Styling Jake Sammis Hair and Makeup Anna Bernabe at Kalpana Styling Assistant Cole Norton