Grade A+
“The Hamilton Mixtape” is an eclectic mix of covers and curios from the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical “Hamilton.” Its incorporation of a wide variety of genres ensures there is something for everyone. The sheer amount of talent helps make it one of the best albums of 2016.
The crew behind this mixtape announce their purpose with the intro, “No John Trumbull.” It features Black Thought of The Roots rapping about Trumbull, a noted Revolutionary War-era painter. Black Thought notes the reality of the Founding Fathers was way more contentious and vibrant than Trumbull’s harmonious paintings.
“The Hamilton Mixtape” aspires to depict the controversial and lively nature of America, then and now. One of the ways Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda does this is by assembling a merry band of talented musicians that perform in a variety of styles. This allows artists as different as Nas and Regina Spektor to work within the iconography of “Hamilton” to create something beautiful and true to themselves.
The covers and remixes make up the majority of the mixtape. Some of them are performed by the artists that inspired Miranda. For example, “Helpless” was influenced by duets featuring Ashanti and Ja Rule. On the mixtape, they cover “Helpless,” and it sounds like it time traveled from circa 2002 in the best way possible.
John Legend’s gospel-inflected cover of “History Has Its Eyes On You” is a great showcase for his incomparable voice. The cover of “Satisfied” is a great mixture of Sia’s vocals and Queen Latifah’s lightning-quick rapping. There’s even a nice vocal cameo from Miguel.
Some of the more interesting material on “The Hamilton Mixtape” comes in the form of demos for songs that were cut from “Hamilton.” These demos give great insight into Miranda’s songwriting process. It is fascinating that he can take only the best line of a good song that was cut and deploy it at the perfect moment in the musical.
“The Hamilton Mixtape” features new songs inspired by the themes of “Hamilton.”
“Wrote My Way Out” is about how writing can save your life. One of its highlights is an excellent verse by Nas. “Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)” is a fantastic tribute to immigrants and what they have to face.
“The Hamilton Mixtape” is a multifaceted reflection of America. It is also an embarrassment of riches. I haven’t even found time to discuss the cover that Alicia Keys did of “That Would Be Enough.”
Now quickly finish reading this sentence so you can hear it for yourself.
