Lin-Manuel Miranda has done a lot of great things where entertainment is concerned. He is a new darling at Disney with his soundtrack work for “Moana” and his co-starring role in “Mary Poppins Returns.” He is up to receive his very own star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year. But none can argue that his crowning triumph would have to be his creation and starring in the musical “Hamilton.” Said production actually took the original form of a mixtape he was working on. This “Hamilton Mixtape” was released December last year. This week Miranda released a music video for one of the mixtape’s most prominent songs, “immigrants (We Get the Job Done),” which focuses on one of America’s touchiest social topics.
Trials of immigrants
The music video for “Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)” was released Wednesday, June 28. It features the rap vocal talents of K'naan, Residente, Riz MC/Riz Ahmed and Snow Tha Product. Much like the rest of the “Hamilton Mixtape,” the song hits pointedly at the various serious issues affecting America, most particularly the situation for immigrants.
This struggle is visualized in a line of spoken dialogue in the music video insinuating how the word “immigrant” has become taboo in a nation of immigrants. The combination of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s lyrical genius combined with strong cinematography and visual footage from the unexpected perils immigrants face in the US is an astonishing feat.
“Immigrants” was directed by Thomas Whitmore, with Miranda serving as executive producer. The song itself was repurposed from one of the songs from the “Hamilton” musical, namely “Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)” which has also been considered a reprise of the more popular number “My Shot.” A remix of the latter is also included on the “Hamilton Mixtape” which as a whole debuted Number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in the last month of 2016.
#Ham4all challenge
In addition to promoting the “Hamilton Mixtape” album, Lin-Manuel Miranda is also trying to generate hype for an online challenge he has conceptualized in the vein of the old Ice Bucket Challenge. Dubbed the #Ham4all challenge, this social media initiative has Miranda challenging potential participants to upload a video of themselves singing a song from “Hamilton.” They must then make a donation to Miranda’s “Immigrants: We Get the Job Done” coalition and afterward challenge two friends of theirs to do likewise.
Miranda’s Ham4all challenge has been building up some momentum of its own, with celebrities such as the cast of “One Day at a Time” on Netflix, Ben Stiller, and Gina Rodriguez having submitted their parts. Meanwhile, the artists who sang “Immigrants” have expressed their pride and excitement for having been a part of the “Hamilton Mixtape” project.
