Thursday, November 03, 2016
Lin-Manuel Miranda Finally Releasing The Hamilton Mixtape
The Mary Sue: People love Hamilton. Even people who’ve never been to a Broadway show before love Hamilton. Some of those people are even famous musicians, and they get to live the dream we all wish we could by getting to perform their own versions of songs from the hit show and releasing them to the masses. Enter the The Hamilton Mixtape.
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I cannot express enough how excited I am for this mixtape to come out. I am already in love with the Hamilton soundtrack itself. This mixtape will be just as good if not better because there are so many amazing and diverse artists that are collaborating to create this mixtape. I am excited to hear the covers but also the songs that were cut from Hamilton and the new songs people wrote that were influenced by the show. I listened to the two songs that were leaked by Lin-Manuel Miranda and I was in shock at how incredible they were. Those made me even more excited to hear the rest of the album. It was crazy that Carnegie Mellon got a shout out on My Shot from The Roots. That made the mixtape even better because now I feel a personal connection to the song. Lin-Manuel Miranda is an absolute genius so I know he would not create a mixtape that was any less than spectacular. I am very happy that he has continued to work on this amazing piece of theatre even after it opened on Broadway. I still need to watch the PBS special on the creation of Hamilton, but I am sure it is amazing as well.
This article was really cool, it answered a question that has been stirring in me for a few days now as well as some I didn't know I had. I have been seeing references to this Hamilton mixtape all over social media this week, but I haven't had enough time to try to figure out what this mixtape they were talking about was. I had assumed it was some sort of fan tribute album, but this is infinitely cooler. Along with helping me discover that, this article told me some new stuff about the history of the musical that I didn't know. Most interesting to me was that the opening song was first performed as a solo by Lin-Manuel Miranda at the White House!? That is awesome! And the look on President Obama's face after the performance is priceless. I wonder if anyone else has ever wrapped about a founding father in the White House (Aside from Malia and Sasha of course, who I am sure have sung along to the album as much as the rest of us).
I'm really excited for the Hamilton mixtape to finally come out! There so many different artists featured on this album so it really seems like there's something for everyone on it. So far I've listed to the two tracks that have been released ahead of time and I've had mixed feelings about them. Kelly Clarkson's cover of It's Quiet Uptown didn't really have to emotional power of the original song, and it kind of just came off as a generic pop song. On the other hand, I really loved My Shot (Rise Up Remix). They really made the song their own while still honoring the original track. It also seemed to fit more into the world of the show, but could still stand on its own. Also the fact that they mentioned Carnegie Mellon was pretty cool. I'm really interested to see what all of the other artists on the album do with their songs, and I hope the rest of them are just as good as My Shot.
The video where Lin performs for President Obama is something I will never get tired of seeing. The people who heard this song for the first time had the same reaction that I did for hearing the concept for the first time, chuckling and disbelief. I do not think anyone, even reading interviews with the original team, thought that Lin could pull off a show about Hamilton, but he did it so well. I am so incredibly excited to listen to this entire album. I have already listened to two of the songs that have been released, and I like them more than I thought I would. I honestly think that this version of Its Quiet Uptown is better than the original. Yes the original works well in the show, but as a song by itself, the mixtape version is to die for. I do like that in My Shot Carnegie Mellon is mentioned, along with Harvard. It has a lot going for it and it applies more to people currently. I do like that the songs are staying true to the show and not swerving to far off track.
I've been waiting months for this album to come out! First off, I love the shout out we get in the remix of My Shot because CMU sometimes falls between the cracks. It is incredible that they are finding new innovative ways to profit off of this record breaking show. I like that lin played with the idea that this is a modern rethinking of the show's original album and its incredible to me that this genius keeps flowing out of him. I am a big advocate for theater for change and Hamilton is certainly one of the shows that falls into this category, so it's wonderful to see it getting even more recognition and traction with all of these popular artists pitching in. I think this show may be a little to young to reimagine (kind of like having a premature revival), but the songs I've heard have brought something completely new to the table. The show has sort of plateaued in terms of the viral sensation it once was but this will bring it back to immediate relevancy.
The first thing I thought of when I heard this album was, “how would I explain this to my dad?” And that does not necessarily allude the fact that which he doesn’t love rap music (which is doesn’t) but how I tell him that this album is just as important as “Hamilton” as show itself. My dad was skeptical of the musical for a long time. He thought how can the writer of a musical be on the cover of “Rolling Stone”, a magazine he grew up with having John Lennon and other famous musicians on the front. I’ve talked to him about the fact that this album could be the first step for people who have never recognized theatre as an enterprise, an art form, and a way to express yourself. Lin-Manuel Miranda has assembled a fantastic team and he should be proud. These upcoming musicians that are featured on the album could be on the cover of “Rolling Stone” in a few years.
I've listened to the 2 songs Miranda has released from this mixtape, and they are absolutely amazing. In my opinion, this is set to be one of the coolest things that has ever come out of the the theatre community--a hip hop mixtape based on a smash-hit Broadway musical. It's got some amazing artists on it, and I can't wait to see all that creativity add to this mixtape and see what it sounds like--I'm already incredibly impressed by what I've listened to. It is also a really really clever marketing ploy from Miranda and the Hamilton team. At this point, Hamilton has been out for a year and a half and by now a lot of people will have lost interest, especially with the original cast leaving. But this will bring it back and garner interest in the show again, and maybe will keep it burning for several years longer. I love this adaptation of the music and I can't wait to hear the whole thing when it comes out.
Another week another Hamilton article. I, like many of my peers, am in love with the two songs currently available from the Hamilton Mixtape. The “My Shot” remix by the roots is amazingly well written and an excellent throwback to the genre that birthed Lin Manuel Miranda’s unique style of rap. The lyrics speak to the issues faced my too many people and the situations that remain all too distant to the few privileged enough to have seats to see the musical. I believe that Hamilton was written to highlight the current controversy and reality around immigration and growing up in poverty. Hamilton, through its success, has gotten further and further away from its origins. It’s sad, but all too real. Based on “My Shot”, the mixtape will be a trip back to the show’s roots and commentary. Hopefully, this will appeal to the group that this show is about and re-light the (semi-political) fire that it originally burned.
I'm really a fan of Miranda's decision to release this mixtape. When I complained about Hamilton and continue to complain about Hamilton I pretty much trash the show because it isn't the "hip-hop" I've known to love. However, this addition to the Broadway musical done by actual hip-hop artists really brings it to life for me. I can totally envision the songs through a new lens and although I'm still not the biggest fan of the original show, this fixes my major complaints about the music score.
Also, even though the mixtape is pretty much Hamilton exclusive, I think it's just an awesome thing to have in general if you're a fan of any of these artists. The score is written extremely well since the lyrics alone mix extremely well with the way they sing.
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