For his sophomore album, Anthony Ramos wanted to go “sexy and dark” while adding an R&B vibe in honor of the artists who inspired him growing up.
“Love and Lies,” released on Friday, follows 2019’s “The Good & The Bad,” a “more autobiographical” effort, according to the “In the Heights” star. It features 12 songs, including “Échale” and “Right Now.”
Ramos, who got his break in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash musical “Hamilton,” is having a breakthrough year as an actor, also appearing opposite Uzo Aduba in the HBO reboot of “In Treatment.” His next projects include a sci-fi epic, “Distant,” as well as the next “Transformers” installment.
But “music was my first love”, he told The Associated Press in an interview this week from Montreal. And being a recording artist is a “sueñito” (little dream) that only grew bigger with time.
Ramos also spoke about the colorism debate around “In the Heights” — “The people have spoken. There’s nothing to debate,” he said — and the film’s lackluster theatrical box office after being praised by critics and hailed as the movie of the summer. The film was released simultaneously in theaters and for streaming on HBO Max.
