The Hamilton Mixtape

As a lot of people know, Hamilton did not originally start out as a musical. Lin-Manuel Miranda's first idea, after reading Ron Chernow's biography, was to create a project entitled The Hamilton Mixtape. As time went on, he developed his songs to fit a stage musical structure, eventually writing the show in its full form as we know it today. And the answer to "why" it was developed as a staged production instead of a mixtape is one that has been answered a million times in a million different interviews and news articles, so instead I want to look at what makes a mixtape, and how Hamilton's story fits that mold.

Mixtapes have been around, in the hip-hop world, since the 1970s, when they originated as recordings of live performances (the only way the genre existed outside of the in-person gigs). Over time they grew and changed, as DJs and artists recorded samples and compilations of their material which were distributed primarily in large cities like New York. These recordings often blended genres like rap, R&B, and soul over hip-hop beats to create new and original tracks. Today, mixtapes take several forms, such as developmental recordings by new artists, experimental albums or passion projects by existing musicians, and promotional or "filler" material leading up to the release of an official album. One thing ties all of these together- they are almost always released for free. This is often for legal reasons- mixtapes usually predominantly feature mixes or samples of pre-existing songs which haven't had copyright agreements cleared or negotiated, thus making any profit gained from them illegal. But sometimes the tapes won't contain any copyrighted material, and will simply be released as a "gift" to fans from the artist.

While I doubt The Hamilton Mixtape would've been released for free, I do think it fits a lot of the molds of a mixtape. Many of the songs on the album contain a myriad of melodies and lyrics from pre-existing hip-hop tracks that, were the show not staged, Miranda may have chosen to sample for the recording. Hamilton also features lots of songs which blend genres ("Satisfied," "The Story of Tonight" and its reprise, and "One Last Time" come to mind), another classic staple of mixtapes. It could also be seen as a passion project, similar to many mixtapes released today by established creators- an umbrella beneath which Miranda definitely falls (and would've at the time), after the resounding success of his show In the Heights.

All this being said, The Hamilton Mixtape might not be dead. Miranda and producer Questlove have gone on record saying they're in the process of developing a supplemental album featuring covers of numbers from the show by famous musicians, as well as original new tracks about the characters. So this passion project might have a second life, even after the original idea has flown from the nest and become its own full-fledged creation in Hamilton. I, for one, really hope to see the mixtape released.