Hear Kelly Clarkson, Busta Rhymes’ Songs on ‘Hamilton Mixtape’
Following the announcement of The Hamilton Mixtape track list, two new songs are now available to stream. Kelly Clarkson tackles the somber “It’s Quiet Uptown,” while Busta Rhymes, Joell Ortiz and Nate Ruess remix “My Shot.”
On glitzy ballad “Uptown,” a meditation on grief, Clarkson croons over sweeping strings and watery electronics. “There are moments that the words don’t reach/ There is suffering too terrible to name,” she sings. “You hold your child as tight as you can/ And push away the unimaginable.”
“My Shot,” by contrast, features deft verses from Black Thought, Ortiz and Busta Rhymes. The latter unleashed a torrent of mind-boggling triplet rhythms and ended with Ruess’ signature “whoa-oh.”
The mixtape will be available on December 2nd and features covers of songs from Hamilton, new tracks inspired by the musical and previously unreleased demos from creator-star Lin-Manuel Miranda. Other contributors include Chance the Rapper, Jimmy Fallon, Sia, Usher, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Ja Rule, John Legend, Regina Spektor, Ashanti and Ben Folds.
Miranda first announced the project in March, telling Vanity Fair, “People are coming out of the woodwork, knocking on the door.” He added that, at the time, he didn’t plan to appear on the tape. “I’m not going to be on it because for me, the goal is to keep this inspired by the original,” he said.