On Nov. 8, 2019, now senior independent artist and Sam Fox student Rob Apollo released his album “Whore,” which celebrates a genre he refers to as horny rap. He began working on the album in March of 2019, and on Nov. 11 of this year, he released “Behind the Scenes of ‘Whore,’” an entertaining and sentimental documentary recapping his hard work.

Curran Neenan | Student Life

Rob Apollo last winter, just months after releasing “Whore.”

At the beginning of the documentary Apollo states “this is the hardest I’ve ever worked on a project and… I’m hoping that putting this album out changes my life,” and in a way it did. “Whore” finds Apollo challenging himself sonically, and it’s his most popular project to date.

Rob Apollo started releasing music in 2014, and “Whore” is really special to him because “I’ve never had a project really sit with people the way that ‘Whore’ did,” he said in an interview with Student Life. It was the first album for which he received press coverage, and it garnered both local and national attention.

Artistically, Apollo considers the album “my most ambitious work and my most successful,” he said. While “Whore” celebrates sex, it does so in a way that focuses on Apollo’s own sexual prowess rather than objectifying women like many other rap artists. In the pre-chorus of “Airdrop That Pussy/Horny Rap,” the album’s second track, Apollo proudly declares himself as “horny, young and pretty.” With titillating production and cleverly humorous lyrics, “Whore” is a sex positive experience for everyone.

After watching an intriguing interview about the importance of documentation, Apollo decided to create his own documentary. “While I was making ‘Whore’ I was documenting all of it… hoping to put it all together,” he said. Once the coronavirus sent everyone into quarantine, he finally had the time to edit the footage together.

The documentary was primarily shot on iPhones, because the filming was very in-the-moment. It includes in-depth footage from the “Bop It” music video, the “Whore” live show, photoshoots for the album and more. Apollo considers the documentary to be very nostalgic, because it serves as a reminder of how much fun he had making and promoting the album.

The documentary is like watching a work-in-progress, which is a very surreal yet engaging experience. Not only can fans stream “Whore,” but they can also watch how it came to be from the vision of the creator himself.

Throughout the mini-documentary, you can see how much fun Apollo is having. After showing clips of the “Whore” listening party, the documentary transitions to a “drip check” where he reveals a white floral suit he bought for the “Whore” concert. It’s outrageous, but in a way it works. He jokes and dances around with his friends, shows viewers the contents of his refrigerator and at one point even says “they said stop acting like a n-gga on campus, I said I will not!”

Ending in a hilarious apology for being so horny on Twitter, the entire documentary is a testament to Rob Apollo’s drive, creativity and ability to play just as hard as he works.