After spending more than a decade with the hip-hop recording group Minus Gravity––formerly signed to Capitol Records––and then starting down the path of a solo artist last year, Apollo Liberace says this year he’s focused on leaning into the art and showing his true individuality as an artist.

He debuted with the hit single “Luke Cage” last fall, which is closing in on a million streams, and his first release of 2024 is a far different tune––featuring his singing voice rather than his rapping ability.

The new single, “If I Had The Answers, Would You Listen?” was released at the end of February, along with an official video on YouTube.

“It feels like a pivot but that’s the direction I’m headed this year,” he says. “I’m leaning into what I feel is my true art. Not to say my rap isn’t––there will be rap aspects in everything I do, but this year is just about Apollo Liberace as a full artist.”

That means he’s not catering to a certain audience or even the masses in general this year; instead, he’s honing in on what he likes the most, and not focusing on what other people might want to hear.

“I think honestly for the first time in my career probably I have a clear vision of what I want and what I want to stay at for a while.”

Even though “If I Had The Answers…” wasn’t created with anyone else in mind, the song has already garnered 100,000 plays in barely two weeks since its release. Inspired by relationships growing more difficult over time, which Apollo says is “part of the journey,” the song is ultimately a love story.

It might be a new style for Apollo Liberace, but he’s no stranger to singing. He was drawn to the music industry as a 10-year-old with an older sister already performing and producing her own music. Apollo, as a young singer, covered songs from The Jackson 5 and James Brown as well as original music produced by him and his sister. He sang in church choirs, too.

By age 12 he rebranded himself a hip hop artist and then entertained American and Korean audiences in Seoul, South Korea after he moved there as a result of his parents’ military assignment. He lived in Japan, as well.

“I think I could hold a note,” he says. “I don’t think I’m the greatest singer ever but I love melodies. I always hum melodies and have melodies in my head. If I had kept singing since I was 10 I’d probably be a lot better as a vocalist but I probably wouldn’t be able to do a lot of other things very well. I’m going to work to be a lot better.”

Apollo is planning to release his next single, “Paradise,” in the next few months––it features rapper Tyla Yaweh, who signed with Epic Records in 2019.

“Just shot the music video and it looks great,” he says. “I can’t wait to release that next.”

He plans to release an EP by the end of the year, but right now is focused on putting out songs one at a time.

“We’re at a time where people don’t really take things in and if they do they take it in too quickly so I’d rather have them focus on one song at a time until they tell me they’re ready to sit down and listen to a whole project,” he says.

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