Hear Dessa’s ferocious song on “The Hamilton Mixtape”
December 02, 2016
It's finally here.
Fans of Hamilton, the hip-hop musical that took home 11 Tony awards this year, have been eagerly anticipating companion project The Hamilton Mixtape. When the mixtape's tracklist went public last month, expectations racheted up even higher, with Chance the Rapper, Ashanti, and Minnesota's own Dessa announced as collaborators. Now, the whole project is out. Dessa's contribution is fierce.
In "Congratulations," Dessa delivers a fiery diatribe on behalf on Angelica Schuyler, Hamilton's sister-in-law, after he goes public with his affair. "Congratulations," she spits. "You've redefined your legacy." The song was cut from the musical, although Renée Elise Goldsberry and Rory O’Malley performed it outside the Richard Rodgers Theatre for fans in August.
It's a big moment for Dessa, who's being embraced by Hamilton fans all around the world today. And it's not just fans who are proud of her; given creator Lin-Manuel Miranda's Puerto Rican heritage, she changed her Twitter bio to include, "I have a song on the Hamilton mixtape and that makes the Puerto Rican side of my family excessively happy."
