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Dessa, Chance The Rapper featured on the official ‘Hamilton Mixtape’

by Cecilia Johnson

November 03, 2016

Writer/rapper/internet hero Lin-Manuel Miranda introduced Hamilton as a "concept album" when he first performed part of it in 2009. Later, the vision became a mixtape, then a musical, and the groundbreaking rap/R&B show — which centers around Alexander Hamilton and key figures in his life — opened at New York City’s Public Theater in 2015 before moving uptown to the Richard Rodgers on Broadway. In its runaway success, the show has sparked political discussion, schoolkid joy, and ticket scalping controversies, and it might have saved Hamilton from getting wiped off the $10 bill. Now: the track list of the actual mixtape (which contains “Remixes & Covers & Inspired bys,” as Lin put it on Twitter) has leaked, and Dessa has a song.

This morning, Hypable reported on an Amazon U.K. leak that revealed the mixtape’s whole track list, and Miranda corroborated their account on Twitter. Pre-orders open tomorrow, and the entire project arrives on December 2. Huge names decorate the list, including Jill Scott, John Legend, and Chance The Rapper with Francis & The Lights; Jimmy Fallon & The Roots perform King George’s cartoonish “You’ll Be Back,” and Sia, Miguel, and Queen Latifah take the emotionally devastating “Satisfied."

For her contribution to the Hamilton Mixtape, Dessa will perform “Congratulations,” which is presumably the deleted-scenes rap Renée Elise Goldsberry and Rory O’Malley performed as Angelica and Alexander on August 31 this year. The song picks up after Hamilton cheats on his wife, with an all-too-wise Angelica chastising him for his awful choices; as the woman with the hardest bars in the show, Angelica has a lot in common with Dessa.

“Dixon’s Girl,” from Dessa’s 2010 album A Badly Broken Code, influenced Miranda as he wrote Hamilton, and he included it on his HAMthology playlist in August 2015. On May 13, 2016, Miranda posted a picture on Twitter with Dessa and Daveed Diggs (the original cast’s Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson, as well as one third of experimental rap group clipping.), and he captioned it, “Two of my favorite rappers, Dessa & Daveed!” Dessa has been renting an apartment in New York City for the past few months, and when she performed at Hamline on Sept. 8, she said she’d seen the musical twice. Now, along with legends and other incredible talents, she’s helping tell Hamilton’s story.

 

Here’s the album’s full tracklist:

1. No John Trumbull (Intro) – The Roots

2. My Shot (feat. Busta Rhymes, Joell Ortiz & Nate Ruess) [Rise Up Remix] – The Roots

3. Wrote My Way Out – Nas, Dave East, Lin-Manuel Miranda & Aloe Blacc

4. Wait For It – Usher

5. An Open Letter (feat. Shockwave) [Interlude] – Watsky

6. Satisfied (feat. Miguel & Queen Latifah) – Sia

7. Dear Theodosia (feat. Ben Folds) – Regina Spektor

8. Valley Forge (Demo) – Lin-Manuel Miranda

9. It’s Quiet Uptown – Kelly Clarkson

10. That Would Be Enough – Alicia Keys

11. Immigrants (We Get The Job Done) – K’naan, Snow Tha Product, Riz MC, Residente

12. You’ll Be Back – Jimmy Fallon & The Roots

13. Helpless (feat. Ja Rule) – Ashanti

14. Take A Break (Interlude) – !llmind

15. Say Yes To This – Jill Scott

16. Congratulations – Dessa

17. Burn – Andra Day

18. Stay Alive (Interlude) – J.PERIOD & Stro Elliot

19. Slavery Battle (Demo) – Lin-Manuel Miranda

20. Washingtons By Your Side – Wiz Khalifa

21. History Has Its Eyes On You – John Legend

22. Who Tells Your Story (feat. Common & Ingrid Michaelson) – The Roots

23. Dear Theodosia (Reprise) – Chance The Rapper & Francis and The Lights

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This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.