No John Trumbull (Intro) Lyrics – The Hamilton Mixtape

No John Trumbull (Intro) by The Roots — Song Overview

I keep replaying that first blare of Questlove’s drums—like someone yanking the museum velvet rope off a Revolutionary War painting and yelling fight! “No John Trumbull (Intro)” is the gateway track to The Hamilton Mixtape, and the moment Black Thought declares, “What you’re about to witness is no John Trumbull,” the polite portrait of America’s founders shatters. The Roots compress a whole historiography lesson, a Bronx-burn flow, and a wink to crate-digging hip-hop heads into 75 breathless seconds. The cut never charted on its own, yet it helped rocket the mixtape to a Billboard 200 No. 1 debut in December 2016 and, by 2018, to double-platinum certification .

Song Credits

• Producers: Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter
• Writer / Lyricist: Lin-Manuel Miranda
• Vocals: Black Thought, Questlove (chant)
• Programmer & Drums: Questlove
• Engineer: Steve Mandel, Montez Roberts
• Mixing Engineer: Mikaelin “Blue” Bluespruce
• Mastering Engineer: Chris Gehringer
• Release Date: December 2, 2016
• Album: The Hamilton Mixtape (Track 1)
• Length: 1 : 15
• Genre: Hip-Hop / Broadway Rap / Spoken-word Intro
• Label: Atlantic Records
• Language: English
• Copyright © & ? Atlantic Records & Hamilton Uptown LLC

Song Meaning and Annotations

John Trumbull’s famous oil canvases freeze the Founding Fathers in tidy lines, quills poised, tempers sheathed. No John Trumbull (Intro) flips the frame. Over a head-nod breakbeat, Black Thought reminds us that independence was forged through arguments, bruised egos, and cabinet-meeting slugfests. His flow unspools facts faster than a museum audio guide yet lands with the swagger of a street-corner cipher.

The minimal beat nods to early-’90s boom-bap—kick, snare, faint vinyl hiss—leaving maximum foreground for those densely packed Lyrics. When he rhymes “The reality is messier and richer, kids / The reality is not a pretty picture, kids,” the rhyme mirrors the very duality it names: order versus chaos, canvas versus clenched fist. It’s history instruction disguised as ring-announcer hype.

You ever seen a painting by John Trumbull?
Founding Fathers in a line, looking all humble

Those lines punch two ways. First, they conjure the sanitized two-dollar-bill image of democracy’s birth. Second, they set up the reversal: “Every cabinet meeting is like a full-on rumble.” The joke lands because Black Thought’s voice tilts from docent calm to battle-rap growl in half a bar.

What you’re about to witness is no John Trumbull

A mission statement and a warning. From here on, the mixtape promises smoke—diss tracks, remixes, demos, immigrant anthems, and interludes that refuse to stay politely in frame.

Structure & Sound

Instead of chorus–verse repetition, the track functions as a cold-open monologue. Questlove’s drums lock with a subtly detuned bass drone, echoing the sound design of Hamilton’s cabinet battles while retaining that unmistakable Roots pocket. The whole record is basically a thesis paragraph: this will be hip-hop theatre, not heritage cosplay.

Similar Songs

1. “Cabinet Battle #1” – Original Broadway Cast
   Both pieces pit historical heavyweights against each other via rap bravado. “Cabinet Battle #1” stretches to full debate length, while No John Trumbull (Intro) condenses the same combustive energy into a pre-fight vignette.
2. “Proceed” – The Roots
   Released in 1995, “Proceed” shares Questlove’s laid-back drum feel and Black Thought’s encyclopedic wordplay. If you crave more Roots grooves where intellect meets pocket, start here.
3. “Fight the Power” – Public Enemy
   Chuck D’s 1989 call-to-action gives context to Black Thought’s lines about messy reality. Both tracks challenge sanitized historical narratives and demand listeners confront the friction underneath.

Questions and Answers

Why is the song called “No John Trumbull”?

Trumbull’s paintings offer an orderly tableau of the Revolution; Black Thought promises the opposite—raw argument instead of polished portrait.

Did these Lyrics appear in the Broadway show?

An earlier draft placed the rap before the first cabinet battle, but it was cut for pacing and later revived for the mixtape.

Was “No John Trumbull (Intro)” ever performed live?

Yes—Black Thought opened the December 1, 2016 #Ham4Ham livestream at the Richard Rodgers Theatre with this track .

Are there notable cover versions?

Aside from Miranda’s original 2014 workshop demo, no major reinterpretations exist—Black Thought’s delivery is considered definitive.

What makes the beat distinctive?

Questlove uses his trademark “sloppy-tight” swing, nudging snares a hair behind the grid, letting the Lyrics breathe without losing urgency.

Awards and Chart Positions

• The Hamilton Mixtape debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (chart dated December 24, 2016)
• Mixtape certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA in 2018

Fan and Media Reactions

“Black Thought lights up those Lyrics—my eighth-grade history teacher never sounded this cool.” Playbill reader comment, Dec 2016

“Called it: Questlove just turned a museum piece into a mosh pit.” @HipHopHistorian on X

“Started the livestream with ‘No John Trumbull’ and my jaw hit the floor.” Pitchfork live-blog

“The Roots reminding everyone they can still out-rap the field when they want.” Okayplayer forum post

“Shortest track on the tape, biggest replay value.” Spotify user review