‘Star Wars’ Day: Lin-Manuel Miranda and J.J. Abrams Singing ‘Jabba Flow’ Should Be Your May the 4th Soundtrack
You may have seen or done some things today in celebration of May the 4th. But no matter how wonderful those things may have been, they surely pale to what you about to witness above.
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Today as part of Ham4Ham, the sidewalk performances often staged for people waiting hopefully for Hamilton lottery tickets outside the Richard Rodgers Theater in New York City, Hamilton star and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda announced that a special guest would be joining him for Wednesday’s musical number.
That special guest turned out to be J.J. Abrams, director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the man responsible for asking Miranda to create the cantina music for the Maz Kanata sequence in the film. To celebrate May the 4th, the two then performed that music together, publicly, for the first time.
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As Miranda notes, the lyrics to the song, called “Jabba Flow,” were written in Huttese, the language of Jabba the Hutt (obviously). They translate to, “No, lover, lover, it wasn’t me,” which, according to Miranda, makes the song “literally a Shaggy intergalactic remix.” It’s also the sort of jam that’s perfect for spending May the 4th on Tatooine while sipping ice-cold beverages and telling anyone who will listen that Han shot first. The fast reaction to the tune online has so far been almost uniformly positive:
J.J. Abrams and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s #Ham4Ham Jabba Flow duet is the best #StarWarsDay present ever. https://t.co/MOBydwnKlp
— Emily Rome (@EmilyNRome) May 4, 2016
I think we can all agree that Jabba Flow is the best non-Williams song in the entire film saga.
— Jason Hamilton (@StoryHobbit) May 4, 2016
Oh, and because everything related to Star Wars involves a buying opportunity some sort, we must note that, a May the 4th treat for fans, “Jabba Flow” is now available for download on Starwars.com and iTunes.