Omar Apollo - Live For Me

On this partial follow-up to 2022 debut ‘Ivory’, Omar Apollo spirals over ice in his car with a starkly shifted perspective on life and death. Across its four tracks, he crystallises his coming out story - and subsequent near-death experience - over transcendental trap; a contemporary fable on queer identity, family and, ultimately, acceptance. Cold opener ‘Ice Slippin’ introduces the EP’s hero in the throes of a spinning vehicle, and later, on the electronic ‘Angel’, Omar’s metallic, airy, autotuned vocals conjure images of a winged chrome figure surrounded by fiery synths, battling his way through uncertainty towards radical self-love. Influences from his past pattern the EP as ghosts - from Prince to Stevie Wonder - while the sci-fi R&B dystopias of contemporaries such as Frank Ocean and 070 Shake help to colour the “icy streets of Indiana.” Inspired and bittersweet, ‘Live For Me’ is just as transcendental as it is grounded: death is both metaphor for coming out and literal demise, and Omar fast realises that fearing death is no good reason not to live. It’s a heart-wrenching tale of loss of control and the catharsis that follows once a feared - but life-changing - truth is unleashed, and Omar’s future R&B is as crisp and suave as ever.