Black Thought, Busta Rhymes & Joell Ortiz Rise & Take Their Shot At Greatness (Audio)

Over the last year, the Broadway musical Hamilton has gone from critical darling to global phenomenon. The play, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, re-wrote the rules for theater, bringing Hip-Hop to the fore, and tossing historical conventions, using a multicultural cast to portray the country’s White founding fathers.

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Miranda has been outspoken about Hamilton’s ties to Hip-Hop. In March, he told Vanity Fair “I really wanted the hip-hop community to embrace Hamilton because it’s such a love letter to them.” Though the play was steeped in the art form, Miranda decided to take things further, but commissioning The Roots’ Questlove to executive produce both the official cast album for the musical, as well as a special mixtape Miranda wanted to curate in connection with Hamilton. Questlove said of the play “Hamilton is the balance that Hip-Hop needed. It’s changing the conversation. The amount of people in my apartment building treating me different now … This is a key moment for Broadway and for music.”

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Now, several Tony and Grammy Awards later for the play and soundtrack, respectively, the tracklist for the mixtape has been released and it is a diverse offering that includes music from The Roots, Nas, Busta Rhymes, Queen Latifah, Joell Ortiz, Ja Rule and many more. Taking a note from The Roots Picnic, which is steeped in Hip-Hop but also curates other genres, artists like Kelly Clarkson, Alicia Keys, Aloe Blacc, Jill Scott, Sia and Miguel also join the mixtape.

The lead single is a remix of the play’s song “My Shot.” Dubbed the “Rise Up Remix,” the song is by The Roots and features triumphant verses from Black Thought, Busta Rhymes and Joell Ortiz. Like the play, it is built to be appealing to mainstream audiences, without sacrificing the credibility of any of the artists.

Here is the full tracklist for the mixtape:

1. “No John Trumbull (Intro)” – The Roots
2. “My Shot (Rise Up Remix)” – The Roots featuring Busta Rhymes, Joell Ortiz & Nate Ruess
3. “Wrote My Way Out” – Nas, Dave East, Lin-Manuel Miranda & Aloe Blacc
4. “Wait for It” – Usher
5. “An Open Letter (Interlude)” – Watsky featuring Shockwave
6. “Satisfied” – Sia featuring Miguel & Queen Latifah
7. “Dear Theodosia” – Regina Spektor featuring Ben Folds
8. “Valley Forge (Demo)” – Lin-Manuel Miranda
9. “It’s Quiet Uptown” – Kelly Clarkson
10. “That Would Be Enough” – Alicia Keys
11. “Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)” – K’naan, Snow tha Product, Riz MC, Residente
12. “You’ll Be Back” – Jimmy Fallon & the Roots
13. “Helpless” – Ashanti featuring Ja Rule
14. “Take a Break (Interlude)” – !llmind
15. “Say Yes to This” – Jill Scott
16. “Congratulatons” – Dessa
17. “Burn” – Andra Day
18. “Stay Alive (Interlude)” – J. Period & Stro Elliot
19. “Cabinet Battle 3 (Demo)” – Lin-Manuel Miranda
20. “Washingtons By Your Side” – Wiz Khalifa
21. “History Has Its Eyes on You” – John Legend
22. “Who Tells Your Story” – The Roots featuring Common and Ingrid Michaelson
23. “Dear Theodosia (Reprise)” – Chance the Rapper & Francis and the Lights