Barack Obama’s A Soul Superstar On Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Final ‘Hamildrop’

After a year where Lin-Manuel Miranda teased fans of the Broadway musical Hamilton with a monthly Hamildrop, he saved perhaps the most impressive for last, a guest appearance by the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama.

The star of Mary Poppins Returns tapped Obama on “One Last Time (44 Remix),” the 13th and last Hamildrop in a year-long series of releases.

Obama recites a passage from George Washington’s farewell address on the soulful track.

Grammy-winning gospel singer BeBe Winans produced and Tony Award-nominee Christopher Jackson is also featured on “One Last Time,” which dropped overnight on digital music services, reported Billboard.

The “44” in the title refers to Obama’s number ranking as the president of the United States.

It was a sweet spot pairing for the twosome, who have a long history of friendship.

Miranda performed what would eventually become the opening number of Hamilton at a White House poetry jam in 2009.

The Los Angeles Times noted that Miranda explained at the time, “I’m actually working on a hip-hop album. It’s a concept album about the life of someone I think embodies hip-hop: Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton.”

He would return to the White House seven years later with the cast of the now-Broadway play to reprise the performance.

It was exactly one year ago, noted Billboard, that Miranda began releasing the Hamildrop series, which promised to unleash new Hamilton content each and every month, kicking off with “Ben Franklin’s Song” by The Decemberists.

Throughout 2018, there have been songs from the play performed by artists such as Nas, Dave East, Aloe Blacc, Sara Bareilles, and Mobb Deep. The releases have raised funds for different projects and nonprofits including March For Our Lives and the UNIDOS Program.

Hamilton is the story of how Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, rose to the highest levels of power, only to lose almost everything, die in a duel, and have his legacy defined by his enemies.

It has become a musical phenomenon with unprecedented ticket sales. The musical made its off-Broadway debut at The Public Theater in February 2015 and transferred to Broadway in August 2015 to its current home at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.

The Chicago production of Hamilton began preview performances in September 2016 and officially opened the following month. The West End production of Hamilton opened in London in December 2017. The first U.S. national tour of the show began performances in March 2017, a second U.S. tour opened in February 2018 and a third tour was announced on November 12, 2018.

Lin-Manuel Miranda can currently be seen starring opposite Emily Blunt in the film Mary Poppins Returns.