, but just before taking the lead in this summer's In the Heights,
Anthony Ramos has learned a thing or two about transformation. In an as-told-to interview with Allure'
s Devon Abelman, the actor/singer-songwriter shares exactly what those lessons are and where they originated.
Growing up in Brooklyn, the barbershop was where you would go not only to get a haircut, but also to buy CDs. You got to talk about who's the best artist out right now — rapper, R&B singer, and whoever. You'd go to the barbershop to talk about what happened on the block yesterday.
Sometimes I'd go to the barbershop just to hang out; I wouldn't even go to get a haircut. Over the years, I've had a few barbers. There was a gentleman, named Kenneth, who gave me my first haircut on Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick, [Brooklyn,] at a shop called Blazing Skins. Then I went to a guy named Kay, and then one of my boys who I grew up with and played baseball with, Andrew, started cutting my hair.