Meet Apollo Clone | Houston-based Alt. Pop/Hip-Hop Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Apollo Clone and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Apollo, putting aside the decision to work for yourself, what other decisions were critical to your success?
2023 was a very dark chapter. The persons I built my life around were taken from me and I was sent into a rough descent. I lost all ambition to continue making music & no longer felt any sort of purpose. With my personal life in shambles and business goals no longer being pursued, I didn’t know what to do with myself, which only made the situation feel more bleak.

I sulked in pain and was immersed in disillusion for a year. But by the end of it, reached a plan to rejuvenate. When my lease ended at the beginning of 2024, I put everything I had into storage, quit my job, cashed in my 401K and departed for a trip around the globe.

Many of my peers warned me this was a foolish endeavor and that I was sacrificing stability for a nomadic soul-search, but I digressed. I just kept telling myself that this trip was necessary to appreciate the world again. When I’m elderly, I’d rather regret the things I did do than the things I did not. So I booked several one-way tickets through 5 continents and traversed from North America all the way to Australia over the span of three months.

It was the most enlightening (both culturally and spiritually) journey I have ever experienced and may never be topped based on my rise from the lows of where I was when I left the United States.

When I came back in May, I felt reborn. I had seen the world, learned new cultures, made friends and buzzed with optimism for 11 straight weeks. Perhaps most importantly, I was inspired. For the first time in over a year, I‘d started to write music and could see myself getting back into it; if for no other reason than the love of the art.

Flash forward to now- I finally have an answer for when my fans reach out to ask when new content will be available: February! If I stayed at the same monotonous job, renewed my lease and/or didn’t leave my hometown of Chicago, things very well could have continued their dark spiral downwards. I took the risk to get out, and it was the best decision of my life. I’m back, relocated to Houston and have more confidence/motivation than ever before.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
After high school I was really depressed and lonely, being so far away from home (I went to college in Montana, kind of the middle of nowhere.) That’s when I started really getting into Rap & Hip Hop. It inspired me. I would get high and journal my feelings into creative rhymes because I’ve always excelled at writing. Writing quickly turned into free-styling, and shortly after, I bought Pro Tools and taught myself to compose.

Making music gave me the freedom to express myself, Carte Blanche and the more I learned, the more attached I became and passionate about turning it into something bigger than a hobby. I don’t remember the first song I made, but I’m sure it wasn’t good. I probably had bars and conscious lyrics, but the composition was amateur as hell. The flow was probably all over the place, and I was still finding my voice.

Kid Cudi would have to be the prototypical artist who inspired me to create. His stoner, loner persona brought a somber yet earnest motivation to me. And I had never heard production quite like it. It was music that an alternative rock or electronic band would make. And then he would be rapping over it. But it worked. The sound was unprecedented in Rap but just so refreshing and captivating.

In the artists that inspire me as well as the music I create, it’s never been limited to one genre. I dropped out of college entering my third year to move to Los Angeles in pursuit of a career in the music/film industry. When no one took me or my sound seriously, I continued to write over the instrumentals I created. I enjoyed the freedom of being able to write about whatever thoughts were trapped in my head and portraying them onto my own compositions. My music became a journal. When I wasn’t working, I spent my time auditioning for film and television during the day and doing open mics at night. Even after a couple of good acting gigs, I was assured that music was more of a passion to me. I then moved to Atlanta to network and market my album “Pills Kill Genius.”

I’ve been at this for years now. In the beginning, it could have been a fad. It could have been a hobby. It could have been just something to try and soon abandon once the improbable reality of becoming an influential icon in the rap scene set in. I never stopped believing. This journey has been tantalizing. But it has taken me all over and showed me new people, experiences, and emotions. There has been lots of sadness. There have been many times when I asked if this was worth fighting so hard for. An insurmountable sum of blood, sweat, tears, time and money has been poured into this mission. Alas, all these trials and tribulations have been converted to stories and messages in my music… things to write about. If somebody feels like the world doesn’t believe in them, I have a song for that. If someone has lived out of their car while trying to make it in a new city, I have a song for that. If someone has turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with the loneliness, only to watch those artificial companions release more demons over time, I have a song for that. If there’s someone out there that would give up the security of living near family, or the compassion from a partner that loves them but doesn’t support their journey, or even the safety of a corporate, salary paying position… if there’s someone that would give up on all of that before giving up on their dreams… come hear my message.

One of the biggest mental struggles was getting over the notion that the world didn’t believe in me. If I could take back all of the time, I spent feeling sorry for myself, who knows how much further along the road I would be. Of course, living out of my car while trying to make it in Los Angeles has to be near the top of the list. I was just so unprepared. Turning to drugs and alcohol to cope with the loneliness, then watching those artificial companions release more demons over time, that was hell. But I know I wouldn’t be where I’m at, and have that substance to chronicle in my music if I didn’t go through all of that and emerge in one piece. I also gave up the security of living near family, and relationships with people who loved me but didn’t support my journey. I even neglected the safety net of a salary, corporate position in the pursuit of making it as a musician. I think when you go through all of that, there’s not much more that scares you. Now I have the knowledge that I won’t give up this crazy dream, despite the elements and harsh odds.

I also want to create a legacy of inspiration for younger rappers who feel lost amidst the chaos in their lives. I can give them a voice to follow; a message to sooth their uneasiness. I want to make a living off what I love doing: creating content, namely music.

As far as what sets me apart from others, at the risk of sounding arrogant, would be my versatility. I can do a slow, lofi or spacey song with more of a singing grace to it, and then maybe suddenly go into a conscious flow with sporadic cadence. I guess I pride myself on the dynamics of presence on the track. Sometimes someone will hear a track of mine and ask me who the feature was when there wasn’t one. It was still me. Just mixing it up. There’s just so much style to master with words and mood that I can’t limit myself to one. That goes for genre too. You might hear me do an alternative pop song, followed by a lofi emo track, and then spit fire over a conscious rap beat, finishing up with a melodic trap joint. Hell, I’ve probably done something with two or three of those in one. Why not? I don’t subscribe to a set of rules or parameters when it comes to making music. I’ve certainly blended some genres along the way.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’ve only been here a little over a couple weeks myself, but so far my favorite place is Pitch 25 downtown. It’s legitimately the coolest bar I’ve ever been in. Essentially a huge emporium of games including dodgeball, bags and air hockey with porch swings, dozens of tvs, private rooms, etc. Outdoor beer garden too. Already hit it up thrice. A perfect spot for date night. If you can’t have fun there, you’re a boring person.

I still have plenty more to check out here but everyone is telling me how fun Astros games will be so that’s on my list. I’d like to check out Galveston too at the newly renamed Gulf of America.

Instagram: @apolloclone

Twitter: @apollo_clone

Soundcloud: https://SoundCloud.com/Apolloclone

Youtube: https://YouTube.com/Apolloclone