“The Good & The Bad” Album by Anthony Ramos

When I first started getting into Hamilton, something that hit me very early on about the cast was that a lot of these obviously special people were fo sure going to launch their own music careers someday. They’re just too insanely talented not to.

It happened with Leslie Odom Jr. — who has a follow-up album coming out soon, with four released tracks that I’m loving so far — and now Anthony Ramos has just dropped his own debut album, The Good & The Bad, which iTunes accurately describes as “a sonically cohesive autobiography detailing the ups and downs of Ramos’ journey towards success that combines jazz, R&B, and pop.”

In various interviews I’ve read about the album, Ramos makes it clear that every song was inspired by something that actually happened to him and reflects real feelings he’s struggled with. You know, normal life things, like feeling bad about telling a white lie to his partner, or not wanting a special night to ever end, or feeling the need to leave home for a while to find yourself, only to discover you never needed to leave at all.

Ramos makes fantastic use of his vocal talents throughout, as well as an obvious ear for heartfelt melodies and catchy hooks. One minute you’ll find yourself vibing to the beat, and the next minute a lyric will resonate with you hard. I enjoy the ride every time I listen.

Here’s the full track list, with 🌟s to denote my personal favorites (keeping in mind that there are no bad songs on this record by any means; it’s solid all the way through):

1. “Dear Diary” 🅴 🌟
2. “Auntie’s Basement” 🅴
3. “One More Hour” 🅴
4. “Isabella” 🌟
5. “Mind Over Matter” 🌟
6. “Relationship”
7. “Little Lies” 🅴 🌟
8. “Woman”
9. “Figure It Out” 🌟
10. “Either Way”
11. “The Good & The Bad”
12. “Come Back Home”

If those explicit tags are a concern for listening with kids in the car or whatever, a clean version of the album is available.

Get the (uncensored) album in these places: