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Rene Lopez is a multitalented singer-songwriter, guitarist, and drummer whose career has carved a soulful, genre-defying path through the sounds of New York City and beyond. Born in the Bronx and raised in the NY suburbs & Manhattan, Rene is the son of renowned Puerto Rican trumpet player René Lopez Sr. (Ray Barretto, Tipica ’73), and his music carries that legacy forward with a sound that’s as steeped in Latin rhythms as it is in outlaw country, soul, folk, funk, and rock & roll.
With the release of his eleventh solo album, A New York Lie, Rene turns his lens inward — and outward — chronicling the ghosts, grit, and glory of a life lived unapologetically. The album is a hard-earned collection of songs that blend redemption and reckoning with swagger, tenderness, and the kind of wisdom that only comes from walking through fire. From the raw confessions of “Please Don’t Give Up” to the cinematic heartbreak of the title track “A New York Lie,” each song feels like a personal telegram from the edge of survival — and reinvention.
Whether he’s channeling the hazy streets of downtown Manhattan in “That’s The Truth,” breaking night on the Lower East Side, or telling someone he loves that it’s time to fly free, Rene captures the in-between moments — messy, holy, and real. There’s no posturing here. Just a man who’s loved deeply, fallen hard, and keeps finding a way to get back up.
“This is me fully embracing the gifts my father passed down,” says Rene, “but also reclaiming my own story — the heartbreaks, the rebirths, the ghosts of New York and the fire in my soul. These songs are my truth.”
