Anuel AA is on top of the world right now with an album in the #1 spot on the Billboard Latin Charts as well as international charts with the release of his sophomore album, Emmanuel. Just 2 years ago he faced an unknown future, only a vision of the life he wanted to live and the music he wanted to create. Releasing his first album, Real Hasta La Muerte, on the day he was released from serving a 2-year sentence for gun possession charges, marked the beginning of a new life for him. His passion for music and his family have been the cornerstones of what has grounded the 27-year-old Puerto Rican artist who now is living his biggest dreams. Currently engaged to Columbia’s sweetheart, rapper and singer Karol G, he looks towards life after Covid-19 with the promise of an international wedding and an impending world tour that will begin in Spain.
Here, Anuel AA talks to Haute Living, and discusses his album’s chart topping success, life under quarantine with the love of his life, and artistic collaborations that he would love to explore with Billie Eilish.
HL: How are you feeling right now with Emmanuel is on the top of the Latin Billboard charts and the international charts?
A: I feel very happy! That’s what I work for. I am super competitive, and I sacrifice a lot. Many sleepless nights where I don’t get home until the next day and seeing where I’m from, I’m from the bottom and where I have arrived at… I started simply as a rapper and getting to where I am now fills me with pride, for me, for my family, and for my team, we feel blessed.
HL: How have you been managing during the quarantine?
A: Well, quarantine has been great, I’m in the house with Karol, so that’s good too. I’ve been quarantined with Karol and my engineer, so we have been working. Music-wise, quarantine has boosted my creativity a lot. I’m hoping it all ends soon.
HL: You mention Karol, you are a power couple in the music industry, want to tell us a little more about that?
A: Yes, we are like the Spanish Jay-Z and Beyoncé. We are great! At the beginning, everyone thought our relationship was a publicity stunt, but it was super real. We hadn’t told the world yet until Secreto came out. That was the plan we had. We are having a great time; we are fulfilling our dreams together. We help each other. I help her, she helps me. It is something special. We are both passionate about music and this is something that goes beyond everything. It is a very real love and we are very happy.
HL: The love is felt the way your face lights up when you speak about her! When is the wedding? Do you have a date?
A: No, we still don’t have the date. The virus delayed everything. We were going to get married at the beginning of the year, but everything was postponed. And at the last-minute God’s plan is always perfect. My probation is almost over right now, and we wanted to do our wedding in a place far from the whole world, on the beach and because I cannot leave the country unless it is to sing music it all worked out in our favor.
HL: Tell me about your new album. I want to know everything. I know you are looking to remix some of the singles. What are your favorite songs?
A: I still don’t know who we are going to do the remixes. And I’m about to hit up Don Omar and Romeo Santos and Daddy Yankee for the remix of Jangueo– the song with Tego [Calderon]. My favorite songs of the album are Jangueo, Narcos and Reggeatonera– they are real trap music. That’s my vibe.
HL: You did a remake of No Woman, No Cry called No Llores Mas, tell me about that.
A: That is the song that has the most meaning. And it was a dream come true that Bob Marley’s family approved a song for me. It is a song that I dedicated to Karol. My dad played bass in the production and it is with Travis Barkley and he is a legend. It is one of the most important songs for me that I feel deep in my heart. I listen to it and many memories and many feelings come.
HL: When you released Real Hasta la Muerte you were going through a very difficult time in your life and now that you are in another stage, that things are coming to you, in addition to your relationship with Karol, and what you are doing professionally, what is inspiring you?
A: What gives me strength and inspires me is never to go back to where I once was. My inspiration is to see my son as he admires me and knowing that I have someone there who depends on me. I have to do things right. I have to move forward. In addition to proving it to myself, I have to prove it to him that everything I did in the past, brought me here. I thought that the street was my way out and I ended up left behind in the streets, I ended up in prison. My biggest inspiration is my family. The support they give me, the strength they give me is something that is very rare and special. Each singer is inspired by different things, my strength comes from my family and soul. I have suffered so much, and I know that many people have suffered more than me, but I have suffered a lot and that is something that has given me strength and that is why I am who I am. I continue to move forward. I have to do it for my family.
HL: Is there someone you haven’t worked with that you would like to work with?
A: I really like Billie Eilish. I really like her because she is very different and very authentic. I like her flow, the big clothes, the crazy colored hair, the music especially, it is very different. I would like to work with her. She is an artist that I admire, and I like what she is doing. She sings dark things and beautiful things. I feel that his music is very spiritual.
HL: During this time that you have been home with your family, what is your biggest takeaway? What have you learned about yourself or those you love most during this time?
A: At times like these, you just have to stay close to your family and take care of them. That’s the most important thing in the world. Look right now, all the money, all the fame, none of that matters. You can’t even go outside of your house. There are a lot of people out there that don’t value their family the way they are supposed to. I value mine above everything else. They are my reason why.
To watch the whole interview live in Spanish and English please click here.
