The song Hurricane takes place directly after Hamilton reveals his love affair with Maria Reynolds to Aaron Burr, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. The song begins with a few dramatic, minor piano tones, which allude to the severity of the situation and what he has revealed to his three greatest adversaries. Hamilton proceeds to recall the hurricane that destroyed his hometown when he was seventeen years old, and laments that he couldn’t seem to die. In lieu of this situation, he turns to his writing as a form of comfort and solace. A violin begins to play a morose tune in the background as the townspeople pool money to send Hamilton to America. The constant back-and-forth between the beautiful violin and the dramatic piano coincides with the visual metaphor of the hurricane: chaotic and devastating on the outside, but calm and almost peaceful near the eye. For every moment of hardship that Hamilton has faced over the course of his life, he uses the power of his incredible writing to help him through those situations,  for better or worse.

Finally, Hamilton declares that he will once again turn to writing to put these embezzlement rumors to rest. As he sees it, the only way he can protect his legacy is to write publicly about his love affair with Maria. At this point in the song, a chorus joins in, chanting the phrases “wait for it” and “history has its eyes on you”. While both of these phrases are in reference to other songs in the soundtrack, they are also meant to display a sense of urgency and panic. Despite his attempts to convince himself otherwise, coming clean about this affair will have major implications for Hamilton’s reputation and legacy. These voices gradually become more prominent, swelling and intensifying until they suddenly fall silent. At this point Hamilton reveals the name of this confession: the Reynolds Pamphlet.

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For every moment of hardship that Hamilton has faced over the course of his life, he uses the power of his incredible writing to help him through those situations,  for better or worse.

The Hamilton mixtape contains a revamped version of this song known as “Wrote My Way Out”. Instead of an introspective ballad, this version uses a sample of the phrase “I wrote my way out” from the original soundtrack throughout and transforms it into a rap verse. While Aloe Blacc sings the chorus, Lin Manuel Miranda, Dave East, and Nas describe the trials and tribulations they faced during their childhoods. Nas begins by talking about his experience growing up in the streets of Queens. He explains how he used rap as a way to write about his experiences, and then references the unfair treatment of blacks in the criminal justice system (“My man awaiting trial, misdemeanors we younger/courtroom prejudice, insufficient evidence/jailhouse lawyers, these images still relevant”). The musical Hamilton is credited for its incredibly diverse cast with many people of color or people of differing ethnicities. Despite strides such as these, however, racism is still an incredibly pervasive topic in the world today. As is present within the rap genre as a whole, this new version of Hurricane allows for important social commentary to be made regarding the treatment of blacks in the United States.

Dave East continues this sentiment by discussing his years living as a sixteen-year-old in the streets (“At sixteen, arrested in housin', trips to the mountains/Came right back, trappin' off couches, watchin' for mouses/Only tools we was posed with, had a spot, smoke lit/The hate is just confusion, pay attention how them jokes switch”). As echoed in the song’s chorus, East consistently highlights themes of loneliness and abandonment, forcing him down many roads of uncertainty during his adolescent years. Despite this, however, he does not allow himself to be defined by the circumstances he has been through. Similar to Hamilton, he is able to use his writing as a form of catharsis in a damaged world.

Lin Manuel Miranda’s verse hones in on the struggles he faced due to his Puerto Rican identity (“Y’all, I caught my first beatin’ from the other kids when I was caught readin’/Oh, you think you smart? Start bleedin’/My pops tried in vain to get me to fight back/sister tapped my brains, said pssh, you’ll get ‘em right back”). He questions whether his passion for writing will distance himself from important relationships in his life, one being his relationship with his Abuela (Spanish for grandmother). However, he also mentions his hope that the ideas he proposes in his writing can be a beacon of light in an otherwise gray sky. Finally, the four of them come together at the end of the song to unite in their past struggles. Despite the challenges they faced throughout their lives (i.e. lack of a unified support system, prejudice, etc.), they have had writing as a means to escape and give voice to the voiceless.