Omar Apollo Is Feeling Himself on Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo-Produced "Tamagotchi"
Photo: Gustavo Garcia-Villa
Opening up with the infamous four count, it is a silently understood truth that The Neptunes production brings the best out of any artist it touches, and Omar Apollo is no exception. With Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams on production duo, we are gifted an unapologetically cocky banger, just in time for warmer weather and cropier crop tops. "Tamagotchi" sounds like expensive cologne and post-breakup thirst traps, and we're living for every second of it.
Distinct from the previous four tracks already released from Apollo's highly-anticipated debut album IVORY, set to release April 8 with features ranging from Kali Uchis to Daniel Caesar, it's clear this project will be home to the many layers of the enviable artist. His softness, his inherent groove, and his brute awareness of every eye being on him.
The Mexican-American artist also hasn't shied away from taking his bilingual king crown, with the opening verse of "Tamagotchi" being sung fully in Spanish. He, alongside artists like Rosalàa, The Maràas, and Cuco, are championing the fluidity of language into mainstream music in a gorgeous and very important way.
"Tamagotchi" is fun and easy, flowing from a distant lover to a tour bus hook up over a beat so nasty your body will bounce before your mind can compute. With this single marking the last drop before IVORY's long-awaited release, it's evident that we're entering a new era of Omar Apollo, and it's one that distinguishes him from up-and-coming to fully arrived.
Watch the "Tamagotchi" visualizer below: