The musical Hamilton has been critically acclaimed by critics and fans alike. The work tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, one of the most important people in the early history of the United States. However, what makes this musical truly unique is Lin-Manuel Miranda, the star, writer, and composer incorporates modern hip-hop music style into the musical genre, something that had not been done as successfully. Rather than just classical musical numbers or dialogue, this production uses rap and lyrical composition very effectively. Hamilton employs hip-hop music throughout because it is able to bring in groups that do not typically participate in musical theater, speeds up the story, and makes the main characters much more relatable and approachable.
One way that Hamilton creates such a sensational sound is through the use of rhymes. They create perfect rhymes where the endings of words have an identical sound. For example, in the opening song, words like “squalor” and “scholar” are interwoven in the lyrics. The writer of the song uses many different types of rhymes, too, such as middle and internal rhymes. They also a technique known as “imperfect rhymes” where the sounds match but are not identical. This can also be found in the first song. They use the words “Scotsman” and “dropped in,” to form a rhyme. Although these do not sound exactly alike, they create a feel that the words are matching. This happens throughout the production, using a variety of rhyming conventions that draw on the history of rap and hip-hop.
However, it is not just superficial sounds that create the rich hip-hop feel of Hamilton, it is also steeped in heritage and history. Throughout the musical, Lin-Manuel Miranda weaves together a new hybrid of rapping and musical theatre. One reason why they use hip-hop to tell the story is because it is a perfect genre to tell the American Revolution and founding fathers who were so poetic and lyrical with their words. Another reason to use rap music is that it can pack such a rich and vibrant story into a smaller period of time. Hamilton has many more words per minute than most musicals. At some points it can have as much as 200 words per minute for its fastest tracks. This makes it a fast story and able to pack far more words into its songs than a typical musical, in theory telling more of a story in the process. It also makes references throughout to the history and heritage of hip-hop music. There are references to Eazy-E, Jay-Z and other famous rappers. This makes the work much more likely to embraced by people who listen to rap music and should extend the appeal of musical theater to a wider group of people.
This also makes the opera and musical genre more approachable to a more diverse cast of people. While opera has typically had an appeal to people from certain backgrounds, infusing the musical with hip-hop also invites more modern, new, and ethnically diverse people to join in with the musical theatre community. It also helps tie the story of Hamilton, as someone from a poor background, who made it against a rich elitism to become an important person in the founding of America. It ties those who follow hip-hop with musical theatre and also shows a new side and edge to the founding fathers that is not typically conveyed in more tame, sterile, pieces. According Lin-Manuel Miranda, he was reading a book about Hamilton, a new biography, when this background really dawned on him. He says that he heard the anger and rhyme of Hamilton and the other found fathers as he read the biography. He also was struck by his background as someone who was born not into money and who first got his start in the backwards, poor, West Indies. This makes Hamilton seem less like a distant, elite person and more like an approachable, vibrant, character who is much more relatable. The acting of Lin is really great in this regard, too. He is very animated and does a great job of making Hamilton someone part of a modern narrative and relatable.
Overall, Hamilton is a very interesting and genius way to weave together hip-hop music with musical theatre. This is particularly important given that it seems like musical theatre and other more classical genres like opera are losing favor throughout the country and struggling to stay afloat financially. This makes musical theatre more approachable to people who would not commonly listen to musical theatre. It is also a fresh interpretation on the character Alexander Hamilton. Rather than coming off as a distant, and larger than life historical character, his words and personality are brought to life by a vibrant blend of history and hip-hop story telling. This work may push the boundaries of musical theater in a way that keeps it relevant and popular for new young generations. It also provides new avenues for those who want to use their artistic expressions to push the boundaries of musical theater.
The way that I came to get away from the Caribbean was because I experienced a great natural calamity. There was a hurricane that swept through the area and it sent a great fear through me. I quickly grabbed a pen and paper and wanted to tell the tale to my father so that he could try to also experience the horror of the hurricane. Once I sent the letter, the governor of the island got wind of what I had wrote and wanted to know my identity. The horrible hurricane would turn out to be fortuitous and it was my ticket out of poverty. The letter was read so intently by the governor that he knew I would be suited to get an education that my poor background would never afford. He started a collection fund that would send me to North America to go to college where I could get a proper education. I think that this experience will make me a great employee because it shows that I have come from such a tough background and had to succeed on my own and know what it’s like to work hard and i’ll definitely use this all as an employee.
Second Version like a text to a friend: So, you’re not going to believe what happened. I wrote my dad about a hurricane that came. Governor of the island started a collection plate to get my sent to North America. Now I’m getting to go to college in North America! I’m super excited, and think it’s going to be a super great opportunity!
Works Cited:
Cbsnewswebextras. "Hamilton Cast Performs "Alexander Hamilton" at White House." YouTube.
YouTube, 2016. Web. 15 July 2016.
"How 'Hamilton' Is Revolutionizing the Broadway Musical." The Nation. N.p., 2015. Web. 15
July 2016.
Libresco, Leah. "'Hamilton' Is The Very Model Of A Modern Fast-Paced Musical." DataLab.
N.p., 2015. Web. 15 July 2016.
Macfound. "Playwright, Composer, and Performer Lin-Manuel Miranda, 2015 MacArthur Fellow."
YouTube. YouTube, 2015. Web. 15 July 2016.
Wickman, Forrest. "All the Hip-Hop References in Hamilton: A Track-by-Track Guide." Slate
Magazine. N.p., 2015. Web. 15 July 2016.
