Getting (L)inspired: Local Teens Rap Battle at ‘Hamilton’s America’
Posted on October 19, 2016 by Lindsey Foat
Lily Hooks has been obsessed with the hit Broadway musical Hamilton and its creator Lin-Manuel Miranda since last March.
The revolutionary musical tells the mostly forgotten story of founding father Alexander Hamilton using hip-hop and racially diverse casting.
“He is a genius, and the fact that he used a piece of art that touches so many people is truly inspiring,” Hooks said. “To me it’s a way for people of color to actually see themselves on Broadway and know that there’s a spot for us.”
Hooks was one of several teens who tackled historic and contemporary social issues with spoken word performances at an Oct. 9 sneak peek of Hamilton’s America at the Kansas City, Kansas Public Library.
Titled, “The day the ships came,” Hooks’ piece is about her Creole and multicultural heritage.
The day the ships came my ancestors we not aware of the forced melting pot that would come into existence
The combination of french and spanish confused the delta slaves
Little did they know that neither language would stick on their burnt excuses of tongues
Fellow performers Victoria Kepner and Teren Holliday shared pieces about discrimination and violence towards both lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender + people and the black community.
Kepner said that her piece, titled “(un)safe space” is about how both the history of the LGBT+ community and hate crimes against them go unnoticed.
“I want my voice to be heard and for the brother and sisters in my community to know that they can be heard too that their deaths aren’t going unnoticed,” Kepner said.
Kerpner says she’s also inspired by Hamilton and how, as Miranda says, the musical tells “a story about America then, using America today.”
“Lin found a way to take something that he was passionate about and make it into an amazing hip-hop musical, and I admire him for that,” Kepner said. “I’m hoping that one day I’ll be able to write that amazingly too.”
Hamilton’s America, a documentary that pulls back the curtain on the history and creative process of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway hit Hamilton, premieres on KCPT as part of the PBS Arts Fall Festival this Friday, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m.