With his first release of the Spring, Omar Apollo – a 22-year-old phenom exploding as a rising star equal parts Prince mystère, Golden Vessel youth, and early D’Angelo sex symbol, whose sound finds itself at any given moment on any given track effortlessly floating in the grey areas between bedroom pop, funk, soul, and hip-hop – is melancholy yet undeniably danceable with Imagine U. A multi-instrumentalist as well, Omar Apollo delivers a deep layered ballad of bass-led bounce over which his ranged vocals fluctuate in response to his lyricism’s constantly emotional meandering. As quirky as any other kid his age, Omar Apollo’s most intangible gift is an ability to express the rawness in that uncertainty on a lot of life’s questions with every strum of the guitar, every smirk to his loving fans. 

 

And Imagine U fits the bill exquisitely. A youthful, playful desire for not only love, but its honest expression from a lover’s lips, he captures a unique moment always tormenting the young. And Omar Apollo – always youthful, always playful – delivers it with the kind of funky light-heartedness to be expected with his music.