Hamilton is probably THE Broadway show of the decade. It won a Grammy. It won 11 Tonys after being nominated for a record-breaking 16. It is the ninth musical in 100 years to win the Pulitzer prize. It makes at least $600,000 every week, and it's sold out for the rest of our lives. Needless to say, it's an astoundingly successful show with amazing music, and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda would be well within his rights to rest on his laurels.
Of course, he isn't.
The next part of the Hamilton saga is the Hamilton Mixtape, a collection of pop/hip-hop songs by mainstream artists including Kelly Clarkson, Sia, and Usher. The songs are either covers of musical numbers from the show, they're original songs that sample pieces of Hamilton, or covers of cut songs. The mixtape has been in the works for a while, but Miranda only recently announced a release date for the album: December 2nd. Pre-orders began November 4th, and the public has been bombarded with incredible singles ever since. Even better, this mixtape is only volume one. Another album with more covers is expected some time next year.
Here are some of my favorite singles so far:
1. "Satisfied" -Sia feat. Miguel and Queen Latifah
"Satisfied" is probably my favorite song from the musical, so I knew that this cover was either going to be incredible or awful. I will also admit that Sia wasn't the first artist I thought of when I thought of a mainstream artist performing this song. I was hoping for Beyonce and Nicki, if we're being honest.
However, Sia was who we got, and she did not disappoint. She's definitely a different sound compared to Renee Elise Goldsberry, but there's no doubt that she has the pipes to carry the song. Her "to your UNION" thrums deep in the listener's bones the same way Goldsberry's rendition does.
Jonathan Groff, who plays King George in the Broadway production, reacted pretty much the same way I did. (Seriously, watch that link. It's worth it. Groff is a cinnamon roll).
Sia's vocals were great, and she's also a passable rapper, though she does leave the second verse (which is basically RG rapping at the speed of sound) to Queen Latifah who, of course, kills it. Miguel is only around for Hamilton's cheeky tête-à-tête with Angelica ("You strike me as a woman who's never been satisfied"), but...hoo boy. I always thought there would be no way to add more intent into an opening line like that, but Miguel managed it.
2. "It's Quiet Uptown" -Kelly Clarkson
This was another one of my favorite songs from the show, and it's another one where Renee Elise Goldsberry casts a huge shadow. It was also a really important song for a number of reasons. It's pivotal to the plot, and it deals with heavy themes like reconciling after years of estrangement and dealing with the loss of a child. When I first heard this song, it took months for me to be able to listen to it without crying.
Kelly Clarkson ruined that record.
Her cover is very different from Goldsberry's original. The music is in a different key and doesn't seem to use a piano, so it creates a very interesting song. YouTube reviewers, Two Gay Matts, likened the sound to being underwater, and it's an apt comparison. It's a strange comparison, but it works. In fact, the differences make this version good. Clarkson's not trying too much to recreate Goldsberry, Miranda or Soo's parts. She shows off her own vocal range, and there's a vulnerability in her performance that I haven't heard from Kelly Clarkson in a long time, if ever. It's heartbreaking in the best way.
3. "Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)" -K'NAAN, Snow Tha Product, Riz MC, Residente
This one's basically an original song that samples "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)," and...holy hell, guys. That is the simplest way to describe my reaction.
"Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)" is a number in the show that narrates the final battle of the American Revolution, and it contains the line "Immigrants, we get the job done!" It's spoken by Lafayette, a French citizen who helped provide the French reinforcements that won us the battle, and Hamilton, a Scot who grew up in the Caribbean. The song is really important plot-wise, it has that very important message about immigrants shaping our country, and it's just a really cool song. It never fails to get people pumped. However, it's not one of my favorite songs from the show, because it has a noticeable lack of Renee Elise Goldsberry and/or Phillipa Soo.
With those feelings, I wasn't expecting "Immigrants, We Get The Job Done" to be one of my favorite singles. I knew it would be objectively good, and it was for the first minute and a half. Then, Snow Tha Product's verse started, and my entire life changed. Unlike the previous verses, which have something of a wry tone, her verse is tense and assertive, letting the listener know that she knows exactly what she's talking about, and she'll make you listen if she has to. She has that kind of hungry sound that's apparent in a lot of rappers' earliest (and often best) works, and she does not pull ANY punches, for example:
"You claim I'm stealing jobs. Old Peter Piper claimed he picked 'em, but he just underpaid Pablo."
I mean that in the best possible way. It shocks the listener out of apathy and makes them realize that this isn't a nifty Broadway cover song. This song is lifestyle and politics and human condition packed into a couple of minutes. I had to start the song over again to appreciate it the way this song deserves to be appreciated. It also gets even better from there. Residente, of the famously political Calle 13, has a verse as well, and he, of course, kills it.
There are more singles that this review doesn't cover, but it's running a bit long. The point is, if these singles are anything to go by, there is one damn good album coming out.
