There’s a moment at the beginning of “My Shot,” the third song in Hamilton, when our protagonist spells out his name in triumphant defiance of the odds against him: “A-L, E-X, A-N-D / E-R / we are / meant to be.”
The first time I heard it, my head snapped, because I recognized the callout immediately. He’s imitating Biggie in “Going Back To Cali”: “Imma spell my name one more time, check it / It’s the, N-O, T-O, R-I, O / U-S / you just / lay down / slow.”
That’s when I was like, oh yes, it is on. Much of the brilliance of Hamilton is in how Lin-Manuel Miranda manages to incorporate every musical style from Sondheim to pop to R&B to create something totally new and infectious (he raps a reference to Gilbert & Sullivan for god’s sake). This piece called Miranda a “human iPod shuffle” and it’s hard to disagree. He elevates American art forms like jazz, musical theater and rap to tell the story of a bunch of old white dudes in the 18th century and makes it downright riveting.
But it’s the hip hop references that really make the show sing.
There’s no way I could go through all of them, but let’s just look at one song as a dope example: “Cabinet Battle #1.” First of all, you’d never know you needed a rap battle between Jefferson and Hamilton in your life until you hear this, and then you’re like, goddamit how did I live without it? A rap battle is, at its heart, a tennis match of wits and verbal one-upsmanship. It’s the perfect frame for something that could be incredibly boring: a debate over policy. And what a debate it is. So let’s go through some of my favorite callbacks, shall we?
The song opens with George Washington–who is officiating the battle, natch–welcoming the crowd: “Ladies and gentleman, you could have been anywhere else in the world tonight, but you’re here with us in New York City!” Sound familiar? It’s borrowed, both in words and delivery, from Jay’s intro to “Izzo” on The Blueprint: “Thanks for coming out tonight, you could have been anywhere in the world, but you’re here with me.” 🙌 🙌 🙌
OK, this is sort of an aside, but it’s too good to not mention. Even though Thomas Jefferson is basically a dick, his swagger is on point, as evidenced by Daveed Diggs’ smug growl on “These are wise words / enterprising men quote em / don’t act surprised you guys / cuz I wrote em.” I need Daveed Diggs to marry me just for that. Oh, and the “yawww” at the end of the line? Totally Drake.
Jefferson doesn’t let up: “Oh, if the shoe fits wear it! / New York’s in debt, why should Virginia bear it?” Umm…that’s an allusion to Eminem’s verse on the Jay/Em joint “Renegade”: “If the shoe fits, I’ll wear it / But if it don’t, then y’all’ll swallow the truth, grin and bear it.”
And then Jefferson takes it all the way back to the godfather of modern hip hop: “Such a blunder, sometimes it makes me wonder why I even bring the thunder” is a direct shout to Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message.” Don’t forget the throat-clearing “aha-ha-ha-ha.”
And that’s not even getting into the devastating lyrics (if I was in the crowd when Hamilton raps “Yeah, keep ranting / We know who’s really doing the planting” I would have been on. the. floor.).
I know I’ve been raving about Hamilton since NPR first streamed the soundtrack two weeks ago, so I figured I owed it to you guys to explain a tiny bit of why it has me enraptured. Best of all, the whole soundtrack is so densely packed, you discover new layers upon every listen. So what are you waiting for?
(also referenced in “Cabinet Battle #2; Miranda sure loves Biggie)
