Comprehending the allure of Hamilton and rap

For the past couple of years, I’ve watched from hundreds of miles away the enormous popularity of Broadway’s “Hamilton’’ — from the months-long sellouts (currently until at least August 2017), to the high-priced tickets ($400 for the cheap seats).

And then there are the awards: 11 Tony Awards, 16 Tony nominations (most ever), plus a Grammy, and a Pulitzer Prize.

I’ll admit I’ve been a fan of Alexander Hamilton for a long time, certainly since reading Ron Chernow’s extraordinary biography upon which the play is based. Even Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote and starred in “Hamilton,” said the idea originated after his own reading of Chernow’s book.

I would argue that Hamilton is the most important of our founding fathers, exceeded only by George Washington — and his story is the most inspiring.

Raised in poverty in St. Croix, he was abandoned by his father and orphaned by his mother. Before he was a teenager, he got a job at an accounting firm and became the manager at age 12.

When he was 16, he came to the new colonies and continued his studies at King’s College in New York (now Columbia University).

He graduated in one year and quickly became a patriot in the War for Independence. Eventually he became an aide to Gen. Washington; as an officer, he distinguished himself several times during the war, including at the final battle at Yorktown where he led a column against the British.

Hamilton wrote about two-thirds of The Federalist, a defense of the new U.S. Constitution and this new democracy, and is credited with writing much of Washington’s endearing farewell speech.

Washington named him the nation’s first secretary of the treasury and he is credited with designing our banking system, our federal reserve system, our tax collection system and the general monetary relationship between the states and the central government.

It’s the reason he has a prominent spot on U.S. currency and no one deserves it more. Suffice it to say that a $10 bill without Hamilton would be like, oh, a live Mariah Carey song without words.

Knowing all that, I still had trouble figuring the appeal of a hip-hop version of his life.

The other day I watched a PBS special on “Hamilton” and now I think I get it — beginning with lyrics from the first song:

“A $10 Founding Father without a father, Got a lot farther by working harder, By being smarter, By being a self-starter.”

The play does cover Hamilton’s life, his early poverty, his war record, his philosophical differences with Thomas Jefferson and, finally, fatally, his feud with Aaron Burr.

It is told in rap, and — forgive my cultural inefficiencies — I think I’d want to see it at least twice to better catch some of the rapid-paced phrasing.

I don’t expect to watch it live in New York or Chicago, its current venues, but if “Hamilton” ever becomes a movie, I’ll be the first in line, rap or no rap.

This story was originally published January 6, 2017 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Comprehending the allure of Hamilton and rap."