Anthony Ramos shares frustrations on feeling put in a box by the music industry

Anthony Ramos has had to fight against being put into a box his entire career.

Though the multi-hyphenate Hamilton alum struck gold with the release of the film adaptation of the musical In the Heights, an ebullient celebration of Latino culture — when it comes to his music, he's apparently not Latin enough. At least in the eyes and ears of the gatekeepers of the music industry.

In a new episode of Face to Face with Becky G, Ramos, and host, singer Becky G, discuss the challenges he's faced when it comes to meeting, or rather defying, expectations with his music.

"You make the record of your life. You're like, 'Yo, I cannot write a better group of songs than this,'" Ramos says. "And the steaming platform says, or somebody working at some company, is like, 'But he's Latin. Why he don't make Latin music?' And you're like, 'What?!' Or, 'If he did that, we would lean into him more.'"

Despite being told by executives that if he "leaned this way more you'd be more marketable," Ramos has decidedly gone his own way. In 2018, he released The Freedom EP, inspired by the ramifications of the 2016 election, followed by the studio albums The Good & the Bad in 2019 and Love and Lies in 2021, which lean more into pop, hip hop, and R&B.

"This is what I'm leaning into, this is what I'm doing," Ramos insists. "This is coming from my heart, this is what's pouring out from me when I step into the studio. So you want me to just write whatever is more marketable but you don't want me to say what's inside of me? Which is actually, probably what people want to feel and want to hear anyway."

Frustratingly enough, Ramos faced almost the opposite criticism in his acting career when he was told to be more "ethnically ambiguous" so as not to be put into the "Latino box."

"Folks would say to me that if you grow your hair out and speak in American Standard, you can be more ethnically ambiguous; you won't be in the 'Latino box,'" Ramos revealed earlier this year. "I thought that s--- was a box, as opposed to being a superpower and just who I am."

"I don't want to be hired for being ambiguous," he added. "I want to be hired for who the f--- I am."

That ethos has worked out well for him, and he's passing it on to the next generation. For any up-and-coming Latinx creatives who might face some of the reductive thinking as he has over the years, Ramos advises not to be afraid of telling your own story.

"Your story is unique and your story is amazing. Don't be afraid to tell it," Ramos tells Becky G. "Be proud of where you come from and who you are."

Face to Face with Becky G with guest Anthony Ramos premieres Dec. 28 at 9amPT / 12pmET on Facebook Watch.

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