Grammy® Award-winning recording artist and Golden Globe® and Emmy® Award-nominated actor Anthony Ramos makes a grand return with a brand-new bilingual track entitled “Villano” today via Republic Records.
After generating over 100 million streams across his critically acclaimed debut album The Good & The Bad [2019] and Love and Lies [2021], “Villano” introduces a new music era for the multi-hyphenate artist, inspired heavily by his Puerto-Rican Heritage and Latin roots.
“Growing up, my mom listened to salsa all the time,” he says. “She loved Tito Rojas, Tito Nieves, and Marc Anthony. When reggaeton first popped off in the States, I was getting into Tego Calderón and Tony Dize. There was also freestyle like Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, which was big for me. All of this inspired me at the most important time of my life. Being a Latino from New York is a very specific thing. I’m exploring what that means. This new music is like a homecoming for me.”
“Villano” sees Ramos seamlessly alternate between English and Spanish over swaggering Nuyorican soundscapes steeped in reggaeton fire and hints of R&B.
About the song, Anthony shared, “It’s easy to get painted as a villain. I was coming out of a certain situation, and this is how I felt at the time,” he says. “There were all these opinions and judgements made about me when no one had the full story. I’m grateful for how much I’ve grown from this situation though. All of the pain and lessons in the aftermath is ultimately where the song came from.”
“Villano” sets the stage sonically for the release of Ramos’ official single arriving this Summer, and with a starring role in the upcoming blockbuster, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, this season is his for the taking.
