Omar Apollo: Ivory

Ivory, the debut record from Omar Apollo, is an autobiographical testament to the fluid boundaries of identity, genre, and desire. The record arrives as a love letter to Apollo’s Mexican American heritage and small-town roots, transforming the specificity of his experience into something universally resonant. In the constellation of queer albums that have redefined pop music, Ivory stands alongside Frank Ocean's Channel Orange as a work of vulnerable introspection, yet Apollo's bicultural identity and effortless bilingualism give it a texture that feels both intimate and revolutionary.

(Album Cover)

What distinguishes Ivory is its reluctance to compromise on intricacy. Apollo, who was born Omar Apolonio Velasco to Mexican immigrant parents in Hobart, Indiana, threw out an entire album's worth of material just months before the album was scheduled to be released because he felt the music was too collaborative and not really his own. The result is a record that feels unapologetically personal. 16 tracks that move between sultry R&B ballads, Latin trap bangers, and traditional Mexican corridos without ever losing narrative coherence.

The album's sonic palette is deliberately eclectic, drawing from Apollo's childhood immersion in both American soul music and the romantic Mexican ballads. The Spanish ballad En El Olvido serves as an example of how Apollo presents a contemporary queer take on traditional Mexican songwriting. But his Tamagotchi produced by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo transforms Latin trap into a multilingual smash that fluently transitions between languages in the middle of the verse.

In essence, Ivory is a study of desire in all its complexities. Songs about sexual conflict, unrequited love, and the pain of connection are based on Apollo's voice. In his duet with Daniel Caesar, Invincible, he manages to transform intense desire into a plea-like tone.

The record approaches queer identity in a playful yet revolutionary way. Apollo, a gay individual who grew up in a Catholic household, has discussed the consequences of religious regulations that seemed to be designed to keep him out. In contrast, Ivory portrays queerness as a source of beauty rather than a hardship, transforming that pain into creative strength.

Ivory marks a significant turning point in the development of pop music by celebrating both LGBTQ+ desire and Mexican American identity. It also demonstrates that there is no need for authenticity and commercial appeal to conflict. Under Apollo's guidance, vulnerability turns into strength, diversity into strength, and complexity into clarity.

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By Anish Paranjape

The Department of Entertainment