I have to leave my main blog focus to insist you listen to Hamilton. The record comes out on Friday, but meanwhile NPR has the entire album streaming at their website.
Hamilton, the brainchild of Lin-Manuel Miranda, is a biographical musical of Alexander Hamilton, using various forms of popular music, most particularly rap.
It’s amazing. I fully expect it to win a Pulitzer Prize on top of piles of Tony Awards.
A couple of months ago, a cover piece on Miranda in the New York Times Style section featured praising sidebars on opposite pages written by Stephen Sondheim and Questlove (Questlove also produced the album.).
That’s the range of his fans.
Of which I am one, as you should be. If you still aren’t convinced, watch him perform an early version of the opening song at the White House in 2009.