Featuring Anthony Ramos

and talent for a long time. We talk about so many things, from the stigma around mental health for guys, Hamilton's behind the scenes stories of course, the new album he's working on, filming the movie in the Heights, how he's actually creating a musical, and we talk about a very special charity he works with that I'm so excited for you guys to hear about. And finally, this was recorded before the election, so that is why we did not talk about it. I hope you enjoy the first

episode of season two. Anthony. I'm so excited to have you on my podcast. You have no idea at Thanks for having me, Sady come on. So actually I saw you in concert in Brooklyn. One of the best concerts I've been to. Genuinely one of the best. I think one of the reasons why I love it because you gave context before every song and you kind of explain the lyrics and my actually have a learning difference and it's auditory processing, so allowed me to understand the lyrics

and the music on an entirely different level. So I think more artists should be doing that. Oh my gosh, you just made my whole day. We can end the interview right now. Yeah, this is an amazing thing having me, Yo, that's so awesome. Man. I'm glad. Yo, I'm glad man for real because I try to do that. I tried, you know. It's like because you go to so many shows, you're like, dang, I wish I could understand and the context behind the song too. Yeah yeah, yeah, you know,

and like where did this song come from? And like some songs are not personal, right, but like but but when they are, like yo, I like I want to know like who was that who was that person that you were talking about in the first verse, or what's uh when did that happen to you? You know, like moment, like when was that time in your life? You know

how old were you, Like where were you? You know what I'm saying, like that kind of thing, that kind of just I don't know, it makes me feel more connected to the song, you know, even as as the artist, as an audience. Well, I also think that The Good Bat is so brilliant because it's this It's like it's kind of like a movie. It's the chapter of your it's the chapter of your life that it's told so eloquently, and it's kind of like a show. Yeah yeah, yeah,

you know, it's crazy. It is like when I was writing all these songs and it's like they were all like little movies in my head, you know, like you could make it a movie. It's crazy. I started talking, I started thinking about it. I was thinking about how to develop this as a as a as a film or movie musical. You know, I don't know if we're gonna do it, but it was like something I was like, dang, this is a story here, Like like all we gotta do is to put some dialogue in between, and we

got your story. Yeah yeah, imagine being like an animation. That would be so sick Yoh, but you know, it was crazy, like even so even like um So from East I think it's the fourth song on the album, and One More Hour is the third, and One More Hour it was like about this, you know, these two people who had this like long night and they were hanging out all night and chilling right yeah, And then at the end of the song, I was like, Yo, what if we had Because the next song was about

vacation I took with my fiance, my girl Jasmine. We went to Puerto Rico, and I was like, what if we had Like the piano at the end gets dreamy, It's like if you close your eyes you can hear this, So we put birds at the end. I was just about to say those little those little things that you put in it like sets it up for the next song, so it flows so perfectly. That's dope. Yeah, I'm glad you. I'm glad you did it. Yo. Yeah. We gotta thought

about every moment. Yeah, yeah, I mean I can. That's my favorite part about putting albums together to like, like, I love putting out singles, but my favorite part about making music is like being able to put the whole body and work together and really like piece the songs together, like all right, what goes where? Why does this go? Here. Oh,

we we need an up temple here. We want to feel pulse right here with you know what I'm saying, Like, it's those little things that really make it all together that a lot of people don't notice. Um. One of my favorite songs is figure It Out, And there's a line in it, um why am I pushing away with silence? Has to say? And when I heard that, I was like, that is so powerful. So I was wondering how you came up with that line. I was having a hard time, really, um,

really dealing with myself. You know, I was just really having a hard time dealing with myself. And you know, uh, I guess with myself and the silence too. You know, I think there's a thing that comes with being silent. And now we have phones, and now we have all these things to distract us, right, And and I was just kind of like down to I was feeling like depressed. I was like, damn, like why am I feeling like this?

And and and and I was just like, what is like this recurring theme in my life that keeps happening that I can't like I can't just like shut my mind off. I don't know how to just sit quietly, like I'm always doing something. I'm always like I'm like working, or I'm talking on the phone, or I'm like texting somebody, I'm listening to music. I'm always like like on watching something or you know, like it's like, so that was where that lyric came from. You know, why am I

pushing away what silence has to say? You know? Why do I push through the day like tomorrow is going to figure it out? You know, like someone else to figure it out. You think about even right now, like you know, even now, when the world had to stop, and we're seeing this uh you know, like for example, Black Lives Matter been around for seven years, that actual like the organization, I think, right it's becoming it's on we're in the seventh year, coming on the seven year.

But like this is this year feels like this crazy like wave of you feel me but like in the middle of a pandemic, when we're when we when we've all had to stop, you know, and I think it's like this thing when we stopped that the truth, the truth makes its way to the surface and you can't even and it's always been there, but because you know, you can't, you can't can't avoid your your your brother, or your sister or your mommy, and that whoever you

quarantine with, right your significant other, you cannot ignore whatever conversations y'all may have not had before your quarantine. We're all in this house to be like you know what I'm saying, Like, phone can only keep you busy for

so long during quarantine. Yeah, only so many. There's so much TV you can watch, and and there's only so many, you know, times you can text somebody before you gotta like look at that person and you're sitting across from each other on the sofa, like, damn, we should really talk about this, right. I also feel like with your music, you're also just you're there's this weird stigma that like guys can like have feelings or be down or be anxious or depressed. And I just think you, like you

word it so perfectly that it's so normal. But like I'm curious, so why you don't think it's talked about enough? I don't, you know, to be honest with you, I don't know why. Um, there's this thing about like, there's this thing about men. I think that we have sometimes that when we feel weak, if we're vulnerable. You know, vulnerability equals weakness, right right, as opposed to you know, as opposed to UM, someone who you know it's not afraid to be like, you know, I think it's like

we substitute sadness with anger. I think men mostly, you know, at least most of them, most of them and I've met right and I know myself too, rite we substitute

sadness with anger. We're like, it's not it's like it's always like I'm mad, I'm frustrated, but it's like most of the time it's like I'm just sad because you don't really you're not used to using that word because it's kind of told you to like man up or those kind of things, right, But that becomes a habit you can't even identify when it's deeper than just being angry,

you know what I'm saying. And I think I think that UM in turn cuts us off from actually being able to connect with people because it's almost like so funny. I was like talking to my thea is about this yesterday that was mad for She's like, you know, before you make an assumption about what something is, maybe we just start off with saying, like I feel like that, like this person is is saying something kind of like not nice to me, or I feel like, um, this

doesn't seem right. I don't mean to go into like a therapy session about it were her own words, critic and you know what on this podcast, I'm like all her therapy. There's like I've been going for years and it's so underrated. Yeah, I think everybody should do it. If you can do it, you should do it. Please like this, I agree. I mean I think of it like people like you should work out your body, but therapy is working out your mind. Like it's the same equivalent.

You gotta have both though probably like I think it's important for you to, you know, for us to be in shape physically, but we have to. But like how how are you how are we even going to progress as artists if we ain't progressing right? And like how are you going to continue right? Like like it's almost

like how how do we dig deeper? And what we say as artists too, and what we talk about if we aren't digging deeper like in our own like lives internally you know what I'm saying, Like you know, like it's it's like the more we dig right and like, look, you can make a whole Like the first album could be like this, this second album is is uh is not as um uh personal per se like where like every story leads into the next, right, but the second album is still very much like story driven. Every song

is still story driven. But I wanted to add um like I wanted this album and feel like I said, I said to a friend of mine explaining to me, like, yeah, what's the difference between the first album the second album? I said. First album is like story Time, you know, pop up book. Second album is like the Nitro at

six Flags Great Adventure. Like I was like, we're still we're going on a ride, you know, but it's like by but there's like you know, there's there there all these new small stories, but just with this adrenaline, this pumping like pulse to this album that you know, I'm excited about, but it's just like, you know, how do we how do we dig inside and how do we dig deep to find out? Like yo, like, because that's

how you explore. To more we dig and the more we explore inward, the more I think, the more the world starts to open up exactly because we get a different perspective on things. Yeah, so I listened to Stop and oh my goodness, it makes me happy, especially with what's going on in the world. I just feel like it kind of makes you take a moment and breathe,

being like, whoa, slow down and enjoy the moment. I saw you in an interview and they were talking about how you made a makeshift studio during quarantine and vocals with the blanket? Was this that song? Yes? So that bridge? So the whole bridge you know when you love somebody in the moment, is you know that whole bridge? I did underneath a quote like I had a I can't I don't know what it is right now, but I put that joint over my head right here, and I

had my life. This is my my vocal boofer here, but I just cut my vocals in there and the mic is and then this stuff and look at that. But it came out all right, and I'm glad. I know it was this song because I was like, wait, because I heard some vocals in there, was like, I wonder if this is the one where he did under a blanket. That would be pretty iconic. Yeah, yeah, yeah,

it was that. Yeah, that song was homemade. What was the process of writing it, you know, what was while I was I was in l A for I was in l A for two months writing, you know, and just writing, writing every day most days, right like five days a week or whatever. And this was the last song that I was writing on this trip in l A. I think I wrote We wrote the song maybe Marsh third or something like that or Marsh and I left home back to New York on March fourth, and this

was before the shutdown. It was just about me how I had problems just stopping in my life and how I just was always felt like I've been running and I'm always just like working on doing something, always always need to be doing something. If I'm not doing anything, I'm like calling a friend to see if we can hang out, Like I'm not just like I just just don't know how to sit, you know what I'm saying and just chill. And I was like, yeah, I need to write a song about that. And then that's that's

how kind of lyrics came about. And I wrote the song with some awesome writers. One of my boys Castle who I went to college with, Joel and then Sean Douglas, Amy Watson, and Jesse shot cam roll and produced it and were just in there and we were going back to forth and it was just like, sometimes I wish my life was like a photograph. Double tap the good ones and just photoshop the bad put them in my wallet, in my pocket. If I need them, then I got them.

But life don't work like that. Sometimes I feel like I'm in Nike's on the track even when my feet are my mind is running fast. When I'm home, I getting patient when I'm going. I kind of hate it, but my life works like that. It's like sunsets and open water sky's full of technicolor beauty right in front of you, and so there's so much to discover if you stop reading it for the moment, stop giving a minute, and you'll own it. Stop it's only just begun. Sooner

they'll be almost over. So just stop, you know, like see what comes in the focus. Stop. It's kind of crazy what you notice stops like a setting sun. Sooner they'll be almost over, So stop, you know, And like that's what the song was. It's like, you know, it's like I'm looking through the window of a train. All my visions blurry. What it's like looking through the window of the train, but my vision is blurry, so it

all just looks the same. All the people in the places, all the voices in the faces, they all just stare right back, you know, long talks, cups of coffee, waking up and saying sorry, love is right in front of you. We could finally see each other if we stop, you know,

like that's what the song is about. Like you know, like yo, like just see what happens if you like do that for yourself, you know, and see what happens and see when you do that, it helps me understand the lyrics so much more because if you tell it like a story, even though you're just saying the lyrics, it's incredible. Yeah, no, thanks man, Yeah, I think that's kind of like I always try to speak the lyrics always, like even before we finish every session, I'm like, let's

speak the lyrics. It's like, let's you know, say the lyrics like a monologue list, because if we could say it that way. One of my musical theater teachers taught me that actually in college, Jeffrey Dunn God rests so woman. He was like, yo, let's speak. If you can speak, let's do the monologue first, and then he used to make us do this thing called the caveman, So we

used to only take like operative words. It'd be like, you know, if it's like, uh, look window train vision blurry saying uh, you know a vision blurry looks saying people places, voices, faces stare back like like that, like what are the you know, right, and then you just fill them in with the with the other words that just make the sense makes sense. Yeah, you know, let's

just put a bang and beat to it. You know. See, I've been so like I love Broadway, I love musical theater, and so just past years of junior in high school and I decided to take musical theater as an elective. So fascinated. We learned all the history of Broadway and like it's mind blowing how far it's come, but how

much it stayed the same too. Yeah, I think I think there's an art right to musical theater that that is, uh that is so true to that like craft and that specific like form of art right and and and and and storytelling to like you know, there's nothing like you know, people, it is a little ridiculous, right, that's

someone just burst out in the song, like but it's great. Yeah, like yes, right, like, but there's a reason there's in context, it's weird, but like there's something about theater, Like I've grown up in New York, and it's just like there's something about it that when people are like they don't like Broadway, like, well, have you ever been to a show? And they're like no, I'm like, see that's the issue.

You can't just judge it off the soundtrack, right, you gotta feel it, you gotta you gotta feel the pulse, you know. But I think there's that element right that that you know, I try to take to my live

shows right, Like it's not a musical. But the reason why I explained the lyrics to you before is it's almost like this is the dialogue before exactly right, And I won't do that all the time, like and like and I'm you know, and I'm finding you know, I think I think the trick and the goal is right to like find more creative ways to just keep the post flowing, like a show like Hamilton for example, like

the Way right, like Hamilton or Layman is right. These shows only had music, but and the music just drove the show the entire time, and like there was no dialogue, there were no scenes. It was just lyrics. It was just lyrics and music. Hamilton has fifty songs in it like that, you know, some some of one minute and some are four minutes. Right, But like what's dope about Broadway is like I think the more Broadway diversifies too, and the more Broadway um opens his arms to people

of different races and coaches and color. Right, the nickname for Broadway is a Great White Way. You know. It's like, you know, if you Puerto Rican and you grew up in the projects and whatever, you ain't really it's very easy to feel like your chances of working on the Great White Way are very slim to none, you know. So it's like the more we I think, the more Broadway opens its doors. And I think you know, Broadways doing it, but I think there's a lot of there's

a lot more to do. Yeah, Like like I love that even like Netflix just just um, I think bought the rights to Once on This Island, Like that's one of my home girls. But Jocelyn Jocelyn Bio is right in the the book for it, which I'm so exorit like that that we need to we have to like open the doors for right, these musicals, like people can see it that that's like like with Hamilton's on Disney Plus, because I feel like there's this um saying that, like people are like, why should we make it like a

movie and put it online for streaming? It's not gonna be the same experience. But then it's like, Okay, if you listen to the Taylor Swift album, that doesn't mean you don't want to see her in person, right, right, And like look at you look at even some of these live shows right justin Timberlay got one on Netflix, and Beyonce he's got one up there, Taylor Swift that one.

People people are streaming these shows. People are streaming these live events right like they were live, they were taked and you but but there's a way in cinema to to to bring people in right, like something there's something that is so special in cinema that like where you can feel like you're there to speak to what you're saying. How like how people have connected to the movie so much because folks like you're my director says something real good.

He was like, you know, Anthony, everybody's got the same seat now you guys got the same seat, nobody sitting in the back, nobody sitting in the front, and like, there's no substitute for life a live event period, Like I there's nothing that I want to do more right now than play a live show. But at the same time, we're able to create these experiences for people online, which which is a dope. Second, and thank god for technology that we can you know, do a whole set up

at the crib or whatever. You know, we set up the drum said, and let's let's put on a show, like if you're forced to learn in quarantine. Yeah, I didn't know how to use like logic or I didn't know how to you know, I didn't know how you have this stuff from my computer. Now I'm not going here like okay, how you do this? Now you're a technician, like you got trying. I mean, you know, like you know, I can get it done. Like that's all that matters. So I've heard you saying someone asked you if you'd

already musical and you said, you're working on one. Yeah, how's that going? It's good? I mean I have I have like one, uh one that I'm working on. Uh that I'm really excited about but it's like we've we're like six songs and more like five and and I think, I mean, I got really inspired by the Nativity. I thought, I don't know if it's a holiday show, but I

don't picture it as a holiday show. I feel like it's like, you know, Jesus Christ Superstarker play and at any time right like and I feel like this joint was about like the people around the like Nativity, change it up. These were like people who I'm like, yo, Mary was Mary had to go tell her man that she's having a baby, but she like then sheet on him and he's like, yo, hold on, who you how are you even pregnant? Then? And she's like, you know,

the Holy Spirit. He's like, I don't know that, dude. You feel like someone saying that now it's like a reason they get pregnant, you know what I'm saying, Like, yeah, we're working it out, but but I'll let you you be one of the first to know when when when this thing is ready for people, I invite you to the reading. Yeah, if you're cure and if in New York, oh absolutely all right. We have to take a quick break.

But when we come back, we're gonna be talking all things behind the scenes of Hamilton's your starring role and in the heights of the movie and we're back. So I'm a huge fan of Hamilton, like many like many others, and I just have some questions that I just need to be cleared up. Yeah, so insatisfied. They reverse the choreography like to the exact and it kind of freaks me out how perfect and distinct it is. What was it like? Learning that? It was the worst thing ever.

It was so hard. It was probably the single hardest thing I've done. Like, how did you think? However, how long did that take? I mean, so we it took long. We started learning it, like we started learning it even before we went to the public theater, you know, and brought like we we did like a like they call him like workshops, like we did like a lab of

the show. We started learning helpless. Helpless was hard already and then he said, Yo, we're gonna do this but backwards and there's a move and on a turntable, and I was like, I had I had so many hours, there's so many hours. And then we start learning. After that lab, we learned it but we didn't have a turntable, and then they added the turntable. It's a production so

we basically had to learn it again. It was it was wild, Like my brain, the frustration I cannot explain you the frustration then that that I experienced with that we're learning that. It was crazy. But I can't imagine. It's the most insane thing ever. When I felt people who watched on the zee bus, I'm like, Okay, watch it again. Make sure you notice that they do it

all because it brings an entire other element to it. Yeah. Yeah, because you know she's she's recounting the moment in her head like she's recalling the dot just brilliant her head. And it's I mean, Andy Blank Abler, our choreographer, is uh. We call him the mad Scientist. That's his nickname. He's uh because just just no one understands how he's able to u come up with the ideas that he comes up with. It's just it's crazy, you know. Yeah. And so we actually had so Geordan Fisher was my first

ever interview when I was thirteen. Come on, how so we had him on my part cast which was so full circle um, and he called Linman while we're into the modern day Shakespeare, which I think is the most accurate term I've heard yet. Okay, do you do you agree that or do you have another name that you'd like to go for? No, I think he I think that's it. He's the fort sure of us should be

twitter Bio. I think we all call him that, Like, you know, like, who would have ever thought that hip hop would would uh cross over right into Broadway and in the same in the same space where like there's like Rogers and Hammerstein and then Stephen sin Well. Actually Stephen Sondheim was writing raps and I don't even think he knew he was writing rhymes. When you you listen into the Woods, you listen to song like, uh, your fault, and it's like, well, it isn't my fault. He was

giving those beans. You persuaded him the trader with my cow for beans, but without those beans that have been no stock to get up to. The giants in the first place may have any magic, like they spit. They really are, and you don't think of it that way because it's it's crazy to me. Um. I actually I did a piece for Radio Disney Worry on backstage a Broadway on Hamilton's and I learned that the dress and

burn that Eliza's dress is flame returned. So I was wondering if there's any other little secrets like that that you know of they could share. I didn't know that. Damn, that's no sae. Yeah, I'm like dang wow, like any like any like little things that people might not know. Yeah, because I remember I lifted one of the costumes and

they were heavy. Oh yeah, the customes are crazy, like it's uh, I think I think something people might not know is um, I wore a wig, and uh, I wore wig like towards if you really like look closely, I mean you won't see it. You won't see it in the movie because in the movie it was still my real hair. But I had got the TV show and I started working on that on the Netflix joint, She's got to Have It. But I cut my hair um a little bit, and our director was like, yo,

we gotta give you a wig. So I used Rene's off Way that she wore off Broadway. They snipped it up to the length of my head. Well, first it was too long, so I looked like some like it looked all greasy and curly and like it was. It was not a vibe at all. It was so you know, like it was to the point where I would I went on stage with that way and and uh, my cast members didn't know I was gonna be wearing a wig. And I walked out on stage and they start laughing.

So we start My Shot and we're singing it with like we're doing my Shot, were doing it, We're doing it, and my cast fombers started laughing on stage, and then I started laughing. Oh I think I started laughing, and they because they everybody was. We just all laughing, and we could not get through Um, we couldn't get through My Shot. We couldn't get through Story of Tonight. And it lasted all the way until until through Story of

Tonight live performance. I feel like with those songs, that kind of works because your characters are like the Bros and that, so it kind of works the laugh and kind of fits in. It's not like in burn is that what happened? It doesn't work when you don't sing the lyrics because you know, you know, we were laughing and not singing the lyrics, like it was like we're just laughing on stage. People must have been looking at us like, yo, what are they laughing at? I'm talking

like red in the face show the gut, laughing, stomach hurting. Yes, it was crazy because nobody thought I was gonna have this wig on. Then they cut it. It looked a little more like natural. People couldn't kind of couldn't tell that I was wearing a wig. Do you have the wig? No? Wow, I should get that wig. Dude, you should you just wear for interviews and not say anything. You're right, I should get that wig back, I think. So. Do you have any cool Hamilton's pieces at your house, like something

from the show. Did you ever take anything or did they not allow you? I took my Philip letter. Yeah, I took that letter. I can't I'm not gonna frame it storage, but yeah, it's it's I took my Philip blood. I wanted it. I wanted to have something so so so I took the little note and it actually has the poem on it, you know, the daddy Daddy learned my name is Philip. Oh my gosh, that's so cool.

There is um. I was listening to the soundtrack the other day and um in like this, stay alive reprize, like when your character is dying, I realized there's a heartbeat, like very like and I was like, oh my god, Like that just brought it to a whole other level, because like, I can listen to the soundtrack so many times and I'll still pick up on these things that like have these like connections that you don't even realize.

So when you were on the show, did you ever realize these like little nuances that you that just like even if you've done it like a hundred times, you're Like when I watched the movie, I saw new things. I saw like reactions I had never seen before from people, like this one reaction Renee gives Leslie and um Skyt's sisters.

There's this look she gives him after that the time I've been reading time and since by Thomas Paine and some men say that I'm intense a I'm just saying and he's like, you know, I'm a trust fund baby, you could trust me and uh and she like looks like she gives him this look and it is you know, I was like, probably one of the best moments of the show right there, right there, right there, I was like, I've never seen that and then just like interactions between

like Lynn and Leslie and like the ensemble, like seeing like the way, like certain reactions like f from the Way from Sykes reacts to Chris Jackson and Lynn when they're when they're doing UM, they're having that argument off to the side, and he tells me to see it because like you're on the side of the stage. Yeah, when we're backstage, we're just chilling, like we're just waiting to come on stage. Like it's not like we're like,

you know, in this like mode. Like I'm like, you know, when you've done the show, so never talks to the whole shown. I mean from the side, watched it na, because you're doing it so much. Trust I'm gonna tell you right now. No, sadly, I've not watched it, but from the side. I watched it out in the audience. So I did go out a couple of times and

watched it. UM. Sometimes it's hard to watch it from the side because you're just like you're changing your costume, or you're like I'm going you're going to the out side of the stage for something, or you know eating. I mean, I'm not well, I'll be eating during shows sometimes because I was like, I got to eat dinner, and I'd be like grubbing if I if I had, you know, especially in the second act, because I wasn't

on stage a lot, so I'll be like. That was when I was like, I mean, you've got to get prepared to die for like the second time. You got to feel yourself for that, right you know. Oh, I got a story about that. So I was eating goldfish backstage during uh, the last scene during Stay Alive before I die the in the show I had right the second time, I had goldfish in my teeth on stage.

So Lena's over here and Pepper are crying over me, like having this like dramatic like seeing, and I got like, yo, I got gold fish in my teeth and I didn't even know I had it there. And Lynn was like, Bro, I could barely focus because all I could focus on was the pieces of gold fish you had in your teeth, bro. And my cat still tells that story to this day.

I had chicken too, I I has I had some chicken that felt oh, but I had so I had gold fish in my pocket too because I was eating them and my constume, so I put in the pocket I don't recommend people, you know, don't costume, especially when you're at the young stage. But one of them fell out and they were just on It was just on the turntable, at this little gold fish on the turntable. Somebody took it off. I can't remember who it was, but I wish that was reformed the videotape. Yeah it was.

It's not one of my brightest moments, but it's definitely good story to Okay, we have to take one more quick break, but when we come back, we're going to talk about your upcoming movie In the Heights and we're back. You know, I'm really sad that In the Height isn't coming out with year. You have to wait a whole other year. So just to like, can you give me anything like a good story from on set to hold me over for another year? So I got a few.

But there's a we shoot nineties six thousand. There's a number. There's a song called ninety six in the Heights and everybody's like it's about like winning the lotto and what would that be like for you? Like what would you do with this money if you want it? Like, you know, what dreams would you feel like you'd be able to achieve if you had this kind of money. And and we were singing this song and we're doing this at

the public pool in Washington Heights. But YO, when I tell you that water was like sub zero, it's gonna so when you watch the scene, it's gonna look like the most beautiful summer day you've ever seen. It was gray. It rained all three days and the water was freezing. Magic of editing, Yo, when I tell you, you're gonna see the section where it's like, I'm like, it's something when we get into these crazy hypotheticals and I'm singing that and I'm walking through the water, Corey is walking

through like right, I am doing my best. They must have colored my lips because they were purple. There were seventy dances in that water, dancing and people were like, yo, like one of the dances like Yo, I can't even I can't even do this, Like I can't, I can't actually physically too hypothermia, like yo. But it was it was. It was wild, but like it was that. That was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Man, shooting

that film, like we had. We shot another number called God a bio and we we shot this in an alleyway between four buildings, four apartment buildings, and it was about sixty five of us that day. And it probably should have been a two day shoot, right, you know, we should have had two days theoretically to shoot this. We only have one. And john't you our director pulled off one of the great like one of the most

amazing days I've ever seen a director pull off. And like this cast just everybody came together in a way that was so special. That probably is the singular most special day I've ever had on the set just in general in my life that day, it's like a community. It was just it was just like in were in Washington High School in this alleyway. We're singing about community, were singing about love, We're singing about family, were saying about pride and where we all come from. You know,

you're singing songs about Sette. I like raise your flag like you know, like like you know, I saw I don't think yet, I like raise it whatever you want, you know, you know, it's just like this this pride, like having this moment, I feel like I think that's why I am just so like in love with Limen Wealth work because it's it's like it's an escape and it just it kind of makes you think, like what you want the world to be, Yeah, especially what it's

going on now. Yeah. Now he's you know, he's brilliant, and you know, he's giving me you know, being being a part of these movies and shows and all that has given me an opportunity to, like, you know, I started writing songs because I got inspired by him, you know, I got inspired by you know. I'm like, he's telling his story. He's telling these stories. He wants to tell. What's the story I want to tell? You know, And that's that's how the good and the bad happens, right

That's how that album happens. That's how you know, that's how a second Oltum Now happens. Like that's how these music videos happened right there. All Like even in my videos, every video is like a mini movie. I'm like, yo, how can we how can we tell the story? Like? Um, you know, I'm really excited for for the Stop video because we we um you know, not to give too much away, but the main character is not me in the video, which I'm so excited about. It's this guy

named Anthony Pain who I something on Instagram. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I posted something on Instagram about him, and and um, you know he was cutting hair. Um. You know, after George Floyd was was murdered, he lost his job first of all, in March, lost his job at this at this hair salon, and he stopped, you know, he wasn't cutting here for a minute, and then he just felt like, I have to do something from my community. I have to do something for the career, and I do something

for my people, do something for the community. He went out there, set up a chair underneath the Wind's birth Bridge and my man's was just cutting hair for donation base and every every donation with the went to an organization that was working with Black Lives Matter. You know, there's nothing more beautiful than somebody just wanting to serve

and give. I mean, do that with grace. You know, when you did the movie Monsters and Men, I thought it was so meaningful, especially with everything else going on in the world. It's kind of very similar to what happened with George Floyd. Yeah, and it's crazy how things like hit differently now with what's going on in the world. Um, and I just want to thank you for putting out work that's so meaningful that it's actually making an impact society, that's not just talking about like oh my god, I

went shopping. Yeah, um no man, thanks man, I mean thanks for listening. You know, it takes people to listen to, right, Like, so that's you know that that's that's really it. You know, like you try to put out things that matter to you and things that mean a lot to you, and then you you you hope that people open up their their their ears and eyes and hearts, right and you hope they get something from it. So so thank you

for watching and listening. And you know what I'm saying, Like, you know, it's because of you that the next person finds out about it, and then the next person finds out about it, and then and then here we are, right Like, you know, for season two of my podcast, I wanted to mix it up a bit. With all the negativity going on in the world today, I feel

very helpless. No Hamilton's pun intended. I wanted to give each of my guests the opportunity to promote a charity they work with that means a lot to them and deserve support from all of us. Is there any charity you can tell us about. Yeah, I mean so I've worked with an organization called Katie's Art Project, and um, Katie's Our Project is incredible. Uh. They bring together patients with like terminal illnesses with artists and it's like more than like it's like make a wish, but not like like,

let's we're gonna bring these artists together. But they're gonna and this patient, but they're gonna make some kind of artist. They're gonna write a song together, or they're gonna film something together. They're gonna make something that they create together. Today Smile Tomorrow. That's how Cry Today, Smile Tomorrow came about. So you saw that, so come on, But that's that's exactly so Cry Today, Smile Tomorrow. We wrote my boy Willing and myself and Dariel cadet Um who she had cancer.

Thank god she beat it. Um. She's an incredible human being. You could see her story. Everybody listening you could. You could watch her story on YouTube. We've got you can look it up. It's on my YouTube channel. The story behind Cry Today, Smile Tomorrow. You can listen to the song there too. But this song was just about her life. Every lyric was something she said and we just transcribed it. Everything every lyric was inspired by something she said, a

story that she told that day. We wrote that song in nine hours. I cut the vocal in an hour, and I re cut the vocal another day just because I was I was like, we gotta get this right. It's gotta be it's gotta be good. And then, um, thank god, you know, we were able to put it out. So it's Um, Stephanie Clemens, who is the associate choreographer Hamilton's. That's her organization. So UM, I encourage everybody you please

give to the Katie's Our project. They're doing amazing work and she's bringing hope to to you know, to so many people. So just like you know, I want to support her in that organization. It's incredible organization. Please go check it out. We will. I will have a link to my Instagram. And I'm really excited. Anthony, thank you so much. Come on, come on, come on, Sammy doing uh doing all that's important work in the world. I'm saying, been seeing may come on, Anthony, thank you so much.

This was awesome. You're doing amazing work and I'm just so I'm honored that you have me on your show, and and uh and and and thank you so much, thank you for really I hope you guys enjoyed this episode. Anthony, thank you so much again for taking the time to come on my podcast. It truly means so much. Don't forget to listen to his single Stop the Good and

the Bad Hambleton. If you've been living under a rock, don't forget to follow him on Instagram and Anthony Ramos Official, and also follow me at It's Sammy J. That's I T S S A M M Y J A y E. I am so excited for what's to come this season. I hope you guys enjoyed the episode. I look forward to your feedback. Don't forget subscribed and leave a comment. I want to know your thoughts. All right, you guys, See you guys next week. Bye,