Hamilton's America Page #6

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So, Hamilton, who had dreamed

of battlefield glory

from the time that he was

in his early teens,

suddenly has it

big-time at Yorktown.

There were still

skirmishes going on,

but for all intents

and purposes,

the war ends with Yorktown.

It's clear at that point

who will be the victor.

-We booked a slot to open

the show at the Public Theater,

home of "Hair"

and "Chorus Line," "Runaways,"

"Passing Strange," countless

other landmark musicals.

-This is one of those nights

where you feel the earth shake

a little bit,

you feel the world

start to change.

This is opening night

of "Hamilton."

Congratulations to all of you.

[ Crowd cheers ]

-We've been working on this

for 5 1/2 years,

and here we are,

pushing it off into the world.

And to see people react to it

and respond to it

and be moved by it is --

it's all you could ever

hope for, so we're thrilled.

-My parents saw "Runaways"

on their wedding night.

This...is in my blood.

[ Laughter ]

-I have never in my life

witnessed

a musical that has penetrated

the American culture

faster than "Hamilton."

-It's called "Hamilton."

It's about Alexander Hamilton.

I know it's at

the Public Theater.

Tarik, you saw it, too, right?

Quest, you saw it?

-Yeah. Yeah.

-What --

How amazing is this play?

-It's life-changing.

-After the first two songs,

you --

I looked at my wife,

and we were like,

"This might be

the greatest thing,

like, we've ever seen ever."

And you kind of look around

at the other people

sitting there,

like, "Are we right?"

Like, "This is the best thing

that's -- Right?

We're all on the same --"

But you can't say that

'cause people are acting

and performing,

but you're almost in tears.

-We sell out our extensions

as quickly as they go on sale,

and the decision

is made pretty quickly --

we're going to Broadway.

-On Sunday, tickets

go on sale for Broadway,

"Hamilton,"

Richard Rodgers Theatre.

Be there.

Thank you for coming

this afternoon.

[ Crowd cheers ]

-Our show opened on Tuesday,

and the world blew up.

This is crazy.

I don't know

what the future holds.

I know that our show opened

and everyone freaked out.

And that's where we're at.

- The world

turned upside down

Down, down, down, down

- Freedom for America,

freedom for France

- Down, down, down

- Got to start a new nation,

got to meet my son

- Down, down, down

- We won

- We won

- We won

- We won

- The world

turned upside down

[ Indistinct shouting ]

[ Up-tempo music plays ]

-[ Rapping indistinctly ]

Unh

Six years of labor,

these are the fruits

I'm onstage

with The...Roots

[ Crowd cheers ]

This is the act upon...

And so

we're crackin' the pod

This party's gonna

go till like half past 7:00

I swear to...God,

I died and went to heaven

It's The Roots

-Give it up,

ladies and gentlemen

for "L" double "M"!

-I've been a fan of The Roots as

long as The Roots have existed.

Maybe the most nerve-racking

performance

I've ever done was when I knew

Ahmir and Tarik were

in the audience.

-What immediately drew me in

to "Hamilton"

was this was someone

who, you know, was an emcee

in his own right.

Sometimes in hip-hop, we say,

"Real recognize real."

So, I could recognize

immediately that Lin

was a real one

and that this was a real story.

-There's double and triple

meanings and layers upon layers.

I mean, I've had to see

"Hamilton" eight or nine times

to get references

that I didn't get

the first eight times

that I saw it.

-What Lin was able to do

is create different styles

for each character.

So, George Washington raps

in this very

sort of metronomic way

because that is similar

to how he thinks.

It's all right on beat.

You know, Lafayette

has to figure it out.

Lafayette is -- is rapping

in a real, like, simple,

sort of like early-'80s

rap cadence at first

and then, by the end, is doing

these crazy

double- and triple-time things.

- Lafayette

- I'm takin' this horse

by the reins

Makin' Redcoats redder

with bloodstains

- Lafayette

- And I'm never gonna stop

Until I make 'em drop

and burn 'em up

And scatter their remains,

I'm

- Lafayette

- Watch me engagin' em,

escapin' em, enragin' em

I'm

- Lafayette

- I go to France

for more funds

- Lafayette

- I come back with more guns

-In just two to four

hip-hop bars,

you know, sometimes

there are more lyrics

than a whole,

you know, classical song.

-[ Beatboxing ]

[ Light laughter ]

- That's the crunchiest sound

You'll ever hear

on the beatbox

And both those lips

are in detox

Yeah, slappin' the bass

right now

Freestylin' up in your face

right now

Oh, yeah, because

I'm gaspin', son

Because I'm right next

to the ass of Jasperson

[ Laughter ]

I grew up in the '90s,

and I think that's a golden age

for hip-hop.

The lyrical dexterity of artists

like Mobb Deep and Biggie

and Nas was just incredible.

When I was writing "Hamilton,"

I listened to "Takeover"

and "Ether" on a loop,

on a loop, on a loop.

-Word.

-Hip-hop storytelling --

like, where do you start?

Do you start with the story?

Do you do start with a lyric?

Does it sort of

unlock something else?

-Really, I saw, like,

a hole in the rap game.

You know, all the rappers

I looked up to were mega stars.

And so if I wanted

to put my little two cents

in the rap game,

then it would be

from a different perspective.

I thought that I would represent

for my neighborhood...

-Yeah.

-...and tell their story,

be their voice in a way

that nobody has done it.

-And I love the idea

of telling the stories

that you haven't

heard told before

and suddenly

making that fair game,

because I think

that's such an important part

of expanding

sort of the real estate

that hip-hop can cover.

-Yeah.

You know, when it was my time,

it was like,

the phrase "keep it real"

became the thing.

-Right.

-So, it was like,

"Tell the real story."

These things are my thoughts,

and let me express them.

It gives you freedom.

In hip-hop, no one can

tell you you're wrong

unless the rhymes are wack,

but --

[ Both laugh ]

But no one can tell you you're

wrong because it's your truth.

-Yeah.

-The hip-hop in the musical

has gotten the most attention

'cause it's the most novel

and because Hamilton sings

in hip-hop,

but there's jazz,

soul, R&B,

and just plain

Broadway show tunes, as well.

- Hamilton doesn't hesitate

He exhibits no restraint

He takes and he takes

and he takes

And he keeps winning anyway

Changes the game, plays,

and he raises the stakes

And if there's a reason

he seems to thrive

when so few survive

Then God damn it,

I'm willing to wait for it

- Wait for it

- I'm willing to wait for it

-"Wait For It" speaks to Burr

and how he sees the world --

a world in which

he's seeing contemporaries

who started further back

than him lapping him.

-This is a man who lost

his entire family, really,

and then lost even

extended family.

I mean, he had one sister.

He even lost her.

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