Freestyle and salsa music singer George Lamond is not a stranger to the music scene. He has released seven studio albums, has had many hits make it onto the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and worked with artists like salsa singer Marc Anthony. In an interview with NYC Tastemakers, Lamond highlighted his career-oriented milestones, and we have selected the top five most interesting things we learned about Lamond in our conversation.
- He had a relatively easy start to his career
Lamond called himself “one of the lucky ones” in terms of how he was able to begin his musical career. In comparison to other artists’ starts in the music industry, Lamond said that when he was starting out, he would record demos and send them in distinctly brightly colored manila envelopes in hopes that in a sea of yellow demo packets, they would “stand out.”
As he started out his career in Latin hip-hop music, now known as freestyle music, he and his friends and co-writers, Marilyn Rodriguez and Phillip Andreuila, put together a three-track demo to send out to producers and received a significant number of calls from people who were interested, one of which was Chris Barbosa, who worked with artists like singer Billy Idol.
Barbosa took special interest in Lamond’s music and had him perform after telling him that he “had something special.” Ultimately, Lamond was signed to Barbosa’s label, Ligosa Records.
“You’ve got so many demos being sent over to the record companies,” said Lamond. “I mean, I don’t know, maybe my fluorescent manila envelope caught their eye and they just wanted to listen [to the demo].”
2. He was a shy kid, but gained the confidence he needed to consider a career in music
As a student, Lamond went to the High School of Art and Design in New York, where he started to take music seriously. A DJ friend of his, Kevin Perez, invited him over to his house once to record a demo of the song “Simply Amazing” by Luther Vandross and Gregory Hines.
“It was just a regular, Friday night,” Lamond said, “hanging out, recording, messing with equipment.”
Little did Lamond know that the song would be a hit as Perez made copies of the recording and distributed them among the students at the school. The attention Lamond was receiving came as a shock to him because he said “There were a lot of people I used to look up to at that school and they pretty much ignored me,”.
“I was a little guy. I wasn’t that tall, and I was kind of shy,” Lamond continued. “But all of a sudden, I started getting attention, people started talking to me, the cool cliques started talking to me, and that’s when I realized I had something.”
3. Lamond and Marc Anthony were friends and used to work together
“We used to hang out a lot,” he said. Lamond described that to him, Marc Anthony was like Frank Sinatra when he was younger, and that he was always singing no matter where he went.
As he was recording his debut album with Columbia Records under Barbosa, Lamond made the decision to record “I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5 because he said that he was a fan of Michael Jackson. In the studio, he told Barbosa that someone who should be featured on the record was Anthony.
“Chris said that [Anthony] had the same tone,” said Lamond. “Because he had, like, that Don Henley-raspy voice, and I said that we needed to call him. So, we did, and he said, ‘I’m there’.”
Lamond continued, “We were in the studio and [Anthony] was recording his ad libs… I remember looking into the booth. I told [Barbosa] in his ear that ‘this guy is not supposed to be in the f*cking booth, bro. He needs to be on stage. I should be singing background for him.’ Of course, we never told [Anthony]. But it was magic.”
4. Being Puerto Rican has played a significant role in his personal growth
“It was pretty tough,” Lamond said about being a Latino in the music industry during the late 80s and 90s. Having to appeal to an audience that he said was, for the most part, Caucasian, was difficult.
“I wasn’t prepared for being shunned for how I looked or because of what my last name was,” he said.
When he began, he was told that he had to change his last name from García to Lamond to be able to attract the public. “It hurt,” he said, “because I really wanted to show my friends in my neighborhood that I made it.”
Lamond said he had to adjust the way he spoke, the way he conducted himself, and his attitude in order to cater to an audience that would pair a Latinx stereotype with his personality. “I didn’t want to get typecast into this Puerto Rican…from the Bronx, who didn’t know what he was talking about, when I actually did know what I was talking about.”
There were even occasions in which he would miss out on opportunities to play on radio stations after they saw him, he said, and his executives didn’t tell him why, but he “knew the real story. I knew the deal.”
“As a Latin during those times,” he said, “we had to work double as hard. It was a struggle to put out work. But I’m glad I went through that. I came out like Iron Man; you can throw anything at me, and it won’t hurt me because it’s business, it’s work, it’s ethics, and respect. But I’m glad I went through that… Being a Latino and making it out of the crack epidemic and performing around the world… it’s the best feeling in the world.”
5. You haven’t yet seen the last of George Lamond
According to Lamond, he is currently working on a documentary about the origination of the freestyle genre of music, which is being directed by Maria Soccor, and he is a field producer on the project.
“We’ve been working already for a year,” said Lamond, “and we’re probably going to work for another year. There’s a lot more shots we need to take and it’s an ongoing process with schedules and talent. And with COVID, that’s pushing everything behind.”
Not only will the documentary be released, but fans should be ready to receive a new single by Fly Groove featuring Lamond on Oct. 1 called “I Believe in Love.” He said that it’s produced by Joey Gardner, who produced the freestyle group TKA and artist K7.
“I haven’t had a new release in, I would say, a couple of years,” said Lamond. Lamond also said that he’s working on a Latin music album with a friend of his to “get the kinks out and start creating some new stuff.” As for more of his work, he said that he plans on going out for movie and play auditions. He said he’s “preparing” himself for new things to come.
