Yesterday, I posted Using “My Shot” From Hamilton With ELLs & Others (Including Writing Prompt).

Today, a Hamilton mixtape was coincidentally released, including a Roots version of “My Shot.” The chorus remains the same, but the rest of the lyrics have been reimagined:

The new “My Shot” is additionally fascinating in that it inverts the entire conceit of Hamilton. Miranda’s first insight was that Alexander Hamilton’s life is a “hip-hop story”; now, Black Thought shows up to un-submerge that narrative, spelling out exactly what it means. He opens the song describing schoolkids being told their choices in life are between “mugshots, gun shots, dope shots, jump shot” before getting to the memorable couplet, “When even role models tell us we’re born to be felons / We’re never gettin’ into Harvard or Carnegie Mellon.” “Rise up” still means something very real, you’re reminded, for lots of Americans.

I don’t think it alters the lesson I suggested for ELLs because of how quickly the words are song, but it would be a nice addition if you were using the idea with students proficient in English.

You can read the new lyrics here, and listen to it in this embedded version: