Lin-Manuel Miranda's "The Hamilton Mixtape" (Hamilton rap) at White House Evening of Poetry on May 12, 2009. Accompanied by Alex Lacamoire. Same public domain video as whitehouse channel, but lyrics added as subtitles.
true..that is very true..and you look at lin and how his hair was so short and look at him now, flowing locks...i think this musical is one of my favorites..its so beautiful..
They were laughing because he ended the one verse so high and suddenly, when he said Alexanders name, he said it flat and that was surprising. So people laughed about the comical effect.
+Sasha Cook It's almost like they're expecting this Alexander Hamilton character to be the person from history books...a boring old white guy. So when Miranda changes to the flat tone, it seems like Hamilton is saying, "Uh...hi I'm Alexander Hamilton and I have know idea what I'm doing in the middle of a rap," the same thought most of the audience is having. Little did people understand at that time what Miranda had in mind for the character.
+ Jasmine Ward Being bilingual doesn't really take aditional genius , why does every American I ever met go : A-" how many languages do you speak?," B-"four ", A- "Holy shit that's amazing ! what languages ?" B-"oh , it's not that big a deal , just Dutch , German , French and obviously English." A-"What do you mean no big deal ? To me that is impressive" B-"It didn't take effort on my part except for french, I am Dutch , my mom is from Germany and we speak German , English is super prevalent in pop culture " A- "Nah man , don't down play it." Like it's not as if there is a limited amount of brain space and you have to like sacrifice arithmetic if you want to speak more than one language or something like that, like having a bigger vocabulary is a sing of inteligence sure, but that is the same type of inteligence he already has in English, he just praticed it. It's not exactly the same thing as being able to write with both hands or something like that as some people seem to make it out to be.
I feel your pain, and it bothers me that so many of my countrymen fall for the 'It's too haaard to learn other languages' line. I suppose for the folks who barely have a grasp of English (Fleek? Bae? Your, you're, there, their , they're...) I speak English, Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and ASL, I'm conversational in French and German and I know enough Russian to get in trouble. Most Latin-based languages are easy if you learn Latin. The beauty of Lin-Manuel is that he also speaks music. I'm a musician but nowhere near the talent of Lin. If I was half the writer he was I could die happy.
It's a version written to be performed by one person. At this time, he had already won a Tony and he was invited to perform at the White House - he was not an unknown entity.
Needed to edit after learning that this was the first time he performed this and took a huge risk to do so! Apparently he'd been called to perform a song from 'In the Heights' and decided to go with this instead, which is why people are laughing and a little thrown off - it also makes the intensity in his eyes and performance far more impressive when you realise what a chance he was taking without knowing how it would play off - you are an incredible inspiration Sir!
+Lullabye in an interview, he said it was the first time he'd performed in public, but idk??? maybe he meant the first time he'd performed anything from hamilton in public but yeah
+iDoVideos wait, maybe you made a typo but in case you didn't, this is not his first public performance, nobody's that good their first time. he was performing in the heights off broadway in 2007, on broadway in 2008, and plenty of times before then.
People: *laughing* Me: Haha, there's a million things he hasn't done. But just you wait. Just you wait.. Look at where he is, look at where he started... [Insert More Hamilton References Here]
You guys, come on. They're laughing because this was SIX years ago. Hamilton was a fucking gleam in L-M M's eye. When you first heard there was an astonishingly brilliant hip-hop musical about some history dude, weren't you like "WTH" for a second? Give me a damned break.
+genevieve d I definitely was firmly in the indifferent/WTH camp when I first heard about it, but like...what changed my mind was actually hearing a track from it, which made me sit up and actively listen. Clearly a lot of the people there weren't doing that and it's pretty gross to hear people laughing at lines like "Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide."
I think it's completely appropriate and authentic that the audience laughed a bit. Over three years later we are seeing their reaction through a lens of financial success and critical acclaim that those people couldn't anticipate. Their reaction is more visceral, honest, and not shaded by external factors telling them how they should react than ours is. Most bold ideas are met with healthy skepticism and chuckles at their audacity. It doesn't mean the reactions are disrespectful or dismissive. One of the lessons of Hamilton's success is that it was laughable to think his picture would be in all of our wallets 200 years after his death.
But I honestly think the laughter here was a genuine reaction to what he was doing on stage, interested in the novelty, and playing off of what he was actually presenting on the stage. I don't hear skepticism in the audience's reaction at all.
And the world's gonna know your name, What's your name man? I'm Lin Manuel Maranda And there's a million things I haven't done But you just wait Just wait.
When he was singing "Just you wait, just you wait," it was like Lin was saying 'just you wait, you can laugh now but this is gonna be brilliant in the future'.
Honestly, I was laughing and smiling through this because it is SO genius and he is performing with such passion. It's kind of hard not to smile for me watching someone who is clearly so inspired by his work and I only first heard the music a few days ago and this was my first time watching this particular video (sorry, living under my rock over here in Japan) The shift from intense rapping to saying "Alexander Hamilton" is so dramatic coming from the same person that is kind of causes an involuntary laugh, not out of disrespect or anything.
add to it the juxtaposition of rap and Alexander Hamilton. I can not image two more discongruent ideas but look and behold! IT WORKS!! I can't help but wonder what Hamilton would have thought of this.
Eulogio Olivo Everytime I listen to Hamilton I think how pleased A. Ham would be to know his legacy lived on, though I am sure he would turn to Eliza and say, "I'm nothing like that!" She would just smile, knowingly, as Jefferson, Washington, Burr sir, and the rest of the chorus chimed in, "OH, YES, YOU ARE!"
Yes, Gore Vidal once wrote the book "Burr". Long time a ago. THICK! I recommend it. It is not 100% history, but it is a good tale. See also: The Winter at Valley Forge". There is a 3rd book, and my mind is pooched. I cannot recall it....
To the people thinking they are laughing AT HIM instead of with him and that somehow he "proved them wrong" I'm sorry, you're idiots. They clearly love it. They are laughing because of the shift of perspective, also in astonishment that it's happening. You're trying to fight a battle for Lin that he didn't even fight himself. You think he left the whitehouse thinking. Dammit they laughed, they dont understand. Just stop trying to make the audience a villain.
also they thought it would be a comedic take on the founding fathers history. I mkean its so absurd to think of it as a hip hop play about the 18th century.
Well, even if they weren't laugh at him, they were laugh! Understand what are you looking at sometimes could be difficult, if I were Lin probably I'd take this so bad! But luckly he isn't like me and he kept writing!
+Deandra Hopson to be entirely fair, this song is incredibly entertaining, and most people don't know many details about A. Ham., and as a performer, LMM is never beat.
+DontDoSadness91 He's playing ONE part. This is Hamilton: The Hip Hop Concept Album not Hamilton: the Musical. During this incarnation he is ONLY Aaron Burr.
See him with short hair and the lyrics changed up so much is just a way of saying- "HEY IM THE MOST POPULAR BROADWAY SHOW NOW!" Lin you really are the best music writer to ever live, you based a entire musical off a man who many people didn't even know existed and made it one of the most amazing broadway plays to ever exist. Thank you, truly thank you. :)
SlimeInArt Exactly. I don't think I'd ever really heard of Alexander Hamilton before finding out about the musical. Being British, I was never taught American history. Didn't know when the War of Independence was, only that it was towards the end of the 18th century and the French Revolution happened not long afterwards. I have learnt so much about that period of American history from just the songs alone. So no, not knowing about the founding fathers or certain events of world history doesn't make you an idiot.
I'm from Peru and I never had a deep American history class, I have heard about Jefferson and Washington but just the bare minimum, so I found out about Hamilton trough the musical. Now I have read more and looked for more info tho.
All this talk about their laughter, but it's not that strange, really. If you check it out, they only laughed when Lin said Hamilton's name. Now, look how he did it. He was rapping fast, his whole body language curved and frenetic. And suddenly he stops, straitens himself up, and says "Alexander Hamilton" like nothing was happening. He owned that crowd from the first few seconds, and the laughter was just a reaction to Lin's performance, not in disrespect, but because it really was kind of funny, in that particular moment. That being said, this guy is a genius. I'm not american, and Hamilton (the man) is nothing to me, but still I'd love to see the show. That's how good this is! (Thanks, @John Oliver!)
+WwMm _ Actually, he was human. Us, humans are flawed. We make mistakes and we do some great things. Alexander Hamilton was....both a great man but also a man who had many many flaws, like all humans. Also all founding fathers were a dick in their own way. That just makes them human. We learned to look up to them as some sort of God or demigod, and by doing so they lose their mortality. But in reality they were as humans as we are, they fought with one another. They disagree and agreed, and they respected each other. Hamilton never grew to tell his side of the story, unlike the other founders. Remember, history is written by the victors.
I am aware of that, but people in here are seeing a different picture of Hamilton since it's just based on the musical where he is the hero. For instance Hamilton would always make fun of Jefferson's speech impediment when ever they were discussing matters. Dick move Hamilton. All I am saying people should read more. If you like something research its flaws to test your real likeness towards it.
"Just you wait, just you wait" and know look how far he's come! The man is a genius and the play is brilliant. I can't stop listening to the soundtrack :)
I feel like the laughing starts out of humor -- rapping about an old white founding father is kind of a funny juxtaposition --but becomes laughter of pure delight in watching someone knock what sounded like a silly idea onto a WHOLE NEW DAMN LEVEL. That audience didn't know what hit them!
You have to admit, without the context of the rest of the show this song does actually play like a comedy rap. A rap about an old white Founding Father? Sounds like something SNL would do, which is why they were laughing. Who would have thought it would turn out to be the profound, masterful work that it is?
Hats off to Lin-Manuel Miranda for making me want to open a history book again. The most sobering - and yet inspiring - aspect of the song for me was my recognition of how far most of us (native-born U.S. Americans) have fallen from the hard-charging, self-starting, take-responsibility-for-your-own-success people that founded and grew this country. And Hamilton is the poster child. That, IMHO, is what makes the whole musical so transformative.
Even though the lyrics are serious, the tone and just outlandishness of the song gave it charm. At a performance this good people can't help but smile and laugh, not to mention the singer's charisma on stage.
2009, white house- "alexander hamilton" *everyone laughs* 2015, grammy awards- "alexander hamilton" *crowd cheers for ten seconds straight, lin has to pause before he can continue his line*
+Olivia McDonagh This is a modern rap about a founding father. That's inherently funny. The fact that it is serious and true on top of that give this song such a deep meaning.
Can we stop blaming people for laughing back then? This was 2009. No one knew how far this would blow up. In hindsight, I think we all know it's not supposed to be funny, but I can see how they would find it comical. People just need to chill.
I'm definitely convinced "WHATS YOUR NAME MAN" "alexander hamilton" is still meant to be funny but people bring up people laughing at it like it wasn't meant to be laughed at but its done in such a comical way? plus he knew from the beginning it would be hard to pitch. "Ah yes my hip hop musical about the first treasury secretary of the USA, Alexander Hamilton" incredible. sorry i have the same thing when i see people mad about laughing. He says it in a comical way. he knows people will laugh.
i just realized something in one part lin sings "when the world got around that said this kid is insane, man" when lin tells his idea of the musical everyone laughed ( they though this kid is insane, man) although everything lin didn't give up on his idea and Alexander didn't too..and now lin is at the top and Alexander got to the top too..
+blushingdoom also moved a few things around, and added in the "me, i fought for him // me, i died for him // me, i trusted him // me, i loved him" part
Wow lot of people upset about the laughing. THEY WERE ENJOYING IT. Sometimes when you are surprised by something, like a rap about one of the founding fathers, you laugh.
+2ndRatePetronius They were simply laughing about how he went from full on almost screaming to a simple monotone voice. Laughter at that is an acceptable reaction when you're just hearing about this song about a 261 year old man
I like this version better than the one on the soundtrack because the passion is so apparent. It makes me wonder how many of these views are from Lin-Manuel Miranda himself, just exalting in his own godliness.
Miranda expected people to be surprised by the idea of Alexander Hamilton as a hip hop icon, it's clearly not the first time he has mentioned this idea, so he poses it in a light way. I think he would rather have laughter than stony silence. From the audience shots near the beginning and the tentative laughter, the audience isn't sure how to react. By midway through the song he starts to make traction and build momentum because people have begun to adjust to the unfamiliar medium and are now grasping the story. Their reactions change, less nervous laughter and more listening. It's also key to consider the audience for a fancy White House event; most of these people will not be fluent in rap or hip hop. I work in a professional theatre as a house manager. I listen to every performance and analyze the audience response.
Watching this now and being someone who has watched the production multiple times it’s kinda surile to here the subtle changes that he changed and made to this very first song and the differences that are there all for the better
I am welling up with pride and I'm just so astonished at how much he changed. I mean, he thought of this song as a solo. And in adding the chorus/ensemble parts to it, her give it so much more power. God bless LML
