John Legend Talks Taking On George Washington for HAMILTON Mixtape

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Grammy winner John Legend discusses his "gospel version" of the haunting number "History Has Its Eyes On You," for Volume One of the Hamilton Mixtape. The recording, which dropped on December 2nd, features remixes, covers, and tracks inspired by the multi-Tony Award winning Broadway musical Hamilton.

"[Lin-Manuel Miranda] asked me to do that one, and if you read the casting notice when they originally cast George Washington, they said they wanted a John Legend type for it [laughs]," he tells Rolling Stone. "So I think he already saw that was the right song for me. But I decided I wanted to change the melody, change the chord progression, and make it feel like I wanted it to feel."

He continues, "I did kind of like a gospel version - and I sent it off and didn't even hear back from them! They didn't really say if they liked it. But they sent me a mix to approve and put it on their album, so they must have liked it enough."

Read the interview in full HERE

Listen to Legend's cover of "History Has Its Eyes On You" below:

Legend recently released his fifth studio album "Darkness and Light" and can currently be seen in theaters opposite Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in the musically-themed film LA LA LAND.

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