- Music
- 29 Jun 17
Song off the The Hamilton Mixtape highlights the underbelly of American immigration
This Wednesday, Hamilton-creator and all around musical genius, Lin-Manuel Miranda, revealed an impactful music video/mini-film, called ‘Immigrants (We Get the Job Done).’ The song is from The Hamilton Mixtape which is made up of covers and remixes of songs from the renowned musical.
‘Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)’ features K’naan, Snow tha Product, Riz MC, and Residente - Somali Canadian, Puerto Rican, British Pakistani and Mexican-American artists, respectively, who all contribute a verse to the song and star in the video.
So proud to be part of this https://t.co/0cLlPZfy5A
— Riz Ahmed (@rizmc) June 28, 2017
The video starts on a cramped train, as a young man tries to tune into a radio while the others packed next to him look on with concern. From there, K’naan opens up the song with his verse, singing "And we all came America trying to get a lap dance from Lady Freedom / But now Lady Liberty is acting like Hilary Banks with a pre-nup." The music then breaks into the powerful chorus as a slew of workers sew American flags in dim, industrial lighting.
The video includes a man rescuing a child from a war zone, workers in orange groves and meat shops, busboys, nurses and so many more examples which illuminate the extent to which immigrants make up the backbone of America. The song does not pity the immigrant, nor does it veer into sappy. Instead, the video is fresh and empowering throughout.
Perhaps the most striking lines come from Snow tha Product, who raps,
You claim I’m stealing jobs though
Peter Piper claimed he picked them, he just underpaid Pablo
But there ain't a paper trail when you living in the shadows
We're America's ghost writers, the credit's only borrowed
In a conversation with Buzzfeed, producer of the video, Robert Rodriguez, said, “Within the political climate and all the xenophobia that’s persisting within the conversation, it felt like a really unique opportunity to give a voice to the immigrant narrative, and to shine a spotlight on, as the song says, ‘America’s ghost writers’ — a lot of people that make this country great and that we don’t often get to see in mainstream media.”
With the release of the music video, Miranda also announced the #Ham4All Challenge, where players must rap their favourite Hamilton song, and then nominate friends or celebrities to join in. The challenge is designed to raise money for The Immigrants: We Get The Job Done coalition under the Hispanic Federation non-profit. The coalition will provide services to immigrants, refugees, and asylees, such as legal representation, advocacy, and campaigns for public awareness. A donation to the challenge enters you for the chance to win tickets to Hamilton’s Los Angeles premiere and meet Miranda.
Celebrities have been clamoring to be a part of the #Ham4All Challenge. Twitter is buzzing with posts from stars such as Rainn Wilson of the U.S. version of The Office, actress Eva Longoria, and even the cast of upcoming film Beguiled.
Rainn Wilson:
I challenge @Edhelms to sing some Hamilton and donate to support immigrants everywhere. https://t.co/uyHH5MmSi1 #Ham4All @tahitismith pic.twitter.com/wUu7IhCn9Q
— RainnWilson (@rainnwilson) June 26, 2017
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Eva Longoria:
I just donated to support the Immigrants: We Get The Job Done. I challenge @ricky_martin and @MarioLopezExtra! Thank you @Lin_Manuel! pic.twitter.com/P4QJrBOlr6
— Eva Longoria Baston (@EvaLongoria) June 28, 2017
The Beguiled cast:
For more info on the sweepstakes or to enter, check it out here