By: Clarisa Colton
I’ve decided for this final blog post I am going to discuss the remix of “My Shot” from the Hamilton Mixtape. What really struck me about this remix was that how even though most of the lyrics were changed, the message was still the same. The message was still the same because the message still applies today. The first thing I would like to point out is that the lyrics that aren’t changed – “I said I’m not throwin’ away my shot / Yo I’m just like my country / I’m young, scrappy, and hungry / And I’m not throwin’ away my shot”. It’s not true anymore that our country is literally young, but I feel that it is a true statement that the people today that are trying to make a change in the America we currently live in are mostly the young people of America. In both versions of the song, it delivers a message telling us that we can “rise up” and become anything we work for. I feel the context of the song mainly directs it to those who aren’t generally as able to become who they dream of being or at least feel they aren’t able – minorities.
Which is kind of what the entirety of Hamilton is directed towards. Those who feel small, or left behind – it’s a message to those people that they are just as capable as anyone else, despite the circumstances. The way this differs from the original is that it puts the idea of the song into a more modern/current light. I feel that this makes the message more accessible to those who might need it today. This helps me to understand what my adaptation needs to accomplish – to reach a different audience that may need the message of the song just as much.