The Hamilton Mixtape is a 2016 mixtape album featuring assorted songs from the 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton performed by various artists. It was widely appreciated by fans and critics alike.
Video The Hamilton Mixtape
Background
In 2009, Lin-Manuel Miranda began a project titled The Hamilton Mixtape that would eventually transform into the 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton. During the development of the musical production, Miranda frequently communicated that a "mixtape" of select songs from the show's score was being recorded.
On November 3, 2016, Miranda announced on Twitter that the mixtape was complete and would be released on December 2, 2016. Preorders for the album began on November 4, 2016, and two songs were officially released: Kelly Clarkson's "It's Quiet Uptown" and The Roots' "My Shot." "The following Friday, at midnight in all time zones, "Satisfied" and "Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)" were released, followed by "Wait For It" and "Wrote My Way Out" the Friday after.
Maps The Hamilton Mixtape
Commercial performance
The Hamilton Mixtape debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 187,000 album-equivalent units, of which 169,000 were pure album sales. It marks the largest sales in a week for a compilation album since Cruel Summer by GOOD Music in 2012, and is the first compilation album to reach number one since Now 50 in 2014.
Track listing
Notes
- "No John Trumbull (Intro)" is a cover of a song that was cut from the musical. The song was supposed to take place between "What'd I Miss" and "Cabinet Battle #1." Its melody was reused in the show as "The Reynolds Pamphlet."
- "My Shot (Rise Up Remix)" contains elements of "Shook Ones Pt. II" written by Albert Johnson and Kejuan Waliek Muchita; and "Going Back to Cali" written by Osten Harvey, Jr., Roger Troutman, and Christopher Wallace.
- "Wrote My Way Out" samples the instrumental and some vocals from "Hurricane" performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
- "An Open Letter (Interlude)" is a cover of an early demo of "The Adams Administration"
- "Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)" features a sample of "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)" featuring vocals from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Daveed Diggs, Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos, and Christopher Jackson.
- "Valley Forge" is a previously unreleased demo for a song cut from the show and shares many similarities with what later became "Stay Alive."
- "Take a Break (Interlude)" features a sample of "Take a Break" performed by Phillipa Soo and Anthony Ramos.
- "Say Yes to This" features the instrumental and backing vocals of "Say No to This" as performed by the Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton
- "Congratulations" is a cover of a song that existed in the original Off-Broadway production but was cut during the transition to Broadway. Portions of the song were adapted into "The Reynolds Pamphlet."
- "Stay Alive (Interlude)" features samples of "Stay Alive" as performed by Phillipa Soo, Christopher Jackson, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
- "Washingtons by Your Side" interpolates the hook from "Washington by Your Side."
- "Cabinet Battle 3" is a previously unreleased demo for a song that was cut from the show and features an interpolation of "Hail Mary" by 2pac.
- "Who Tells Your Story" features a sample of "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" in the chorus performed by the Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton.
Hamildrops
In a tweet posted about a month before the Mixtape's release, Lin-Manuel Miranda implied that the album released on December 2 would only be the first volume, hinting at a Vol 2 to be released later. However, about a year later, Miranda admitted he was having trouble compiling a second album that satisfied him as much as the first mixtape, and cancelled the second volume, announcing that instead he would be releasing 13 tracks, once a month, over the following year. He referred to these releases as "Hamildrops."
Ben Franklin's Song
On December 14, 2017, the same day as announcing the Hamildrops, Miranda announced that the first release would be "Ben Franklin's Song" by The Decemberists. The song's lyrics are taken from lyrics to an unused Hamilton song that Miranda had written with the band in mind. The finished track had lyrics written by Miranda and music written by Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy. The song was released the following day, and was received warmly by fans and historians alike.
Charts
Awards
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia