Apollo G is a hip hop artist from Cape Verde. His music has a heavy trap influence and his lyrics are either in Portuguese or Kriol. Apollo G released his first song in 2017, and since then, he has released three albums. Throughout his career, Apollo G even released a few English songs. His most popular song is called “Tempo Antigo” with about 18 million views on Youtube. For this blog post, I am going to focus on his song “Europa.” The music video premiered on Youtube on January 18th, 2020. The main theme of this song is about how his goal used to be to Europe and make it out of the “hood”, but in reality, he realized life in Europe was not all that he expected. In his verse, he explains to listeners that life in Europe was hard, and he has seen his friends being deported and living a life full of suffering. He emphasizes that there is more to life than flashy clothes and superficial materials, and one should focus on doing the things that they love. He even dawns on the days where he once was mopping floors for 5.80 Euros an hour. Throughout the song, he shouts out his producer for saving his life and allowing him to develop his passion. As mentioned in the textbook, many African hip-hop artists struggle because of the lack of access to resources, and he touches on that too in his song.
The song itself has a very obvious American influence. The beat itself sounds like a song that could’ve been produced by a producer from the south, more specifically Atlanta. Apollo G’s flow has a melodic tune to it, but he as well includes rhyme in his verses. In the video, you can see that different elements of hip-hop culture also have an influence. Many of the people in the video have Adidas tracksuits and other streetwear fashion. In the video as well as the song, he reflects where he’s from and visually showcases his “hood”. Overall, I enjoyed the song and found that it message clear and genuine. Many people immigrate to places like the United States and Europe in hopes that life becomes easier or just to follow their dreams, but Apollo tells his listeners that life is complicated no matter where you go, so one should just give their all into pursuing those dreams.
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/apollogofficial/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/apollogofficial
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ApolloGangStar/