Immigrants (We Get The Job Done): Lin Manuel Miranda unveils powerful video ft. K'naan, Riz MC and K'naan
Video is a 'musical counterweight' to the vilification of immigrants in US politics
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Your support makes all the difference.The standout line from hit musical Hamilton became an entire song on Lin Maneul Miranda's The Hamilton Mixtape, and the track now has a powerful music video as well.
Featuring rappers K'naan, Residente, Riz MC (Ahmed) and Snow Tha Product (a Somali Canadian, Puerto Rican, British Pakistani, and Mexican-American), the track's title - 'Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)' - is taken from 'Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)' and is a powerful tribute to the importance of immigration in America and Britain.
K'naan told Entertainment Weekly: "It's become more potent [post-election]. It's more of a fight song."
Snow Tha Product added: "Now more than ever, we need to speak on these issues."
The highly stylised video was launched to help promote fundraising for the Immigrant: We Get The Job Done Coalition, a group of immigrant-rights not-for-profits based in the US.
Ahmed's rap begins: "Ay yo aye, immigrants we don’t like that/Na they don’t play British empire strikes back/They beating us like 808’s and high hats/At our own game of invasion, but this ain't Iraq/Who these fugees what did they do for me/But contribute new dreams/Taxes and tools, swagger and food to eat."
As part of the campaign, Miranda is asking fans to post videos of themselves performing tracks off the Hamilton soundtrack, in a similar vein to the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Miranda said of the song on Genius: "This election cycle has brought xenephobia and vilification of immigrants back to the forefront of US politics. This is a musical counterweight.
"On the line-up we have K'naan, Snow Tha Product, Riz MC and Residente: Each MC culturally represents from a different place on the map. These are my favourite MCs from all over the world. They can speak to this theme from their brilliant perspectives."
NPR notes that the mini-film has gone live just two days after the Supreme Court said it would re-hear the case of Alejandro Rodigruez, a young immigrant who was detained for three years without a hearing after he was convicted for joyriding and admitted to misdemeanour possession.
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