Lin-Manuel Miranda Releases Puerto Rico Benefit Record f/ Jennifer Lopez, Fat Joe, and More

Miranda: "It's a love letter to Puerto Rico."

Lin Manuel Miranda "Almost Like Praying"
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Lin-Manuel Miranda releases "Almost Like Praying" benefit record.

Lin Manuel Miranda "Almost Like Praying"

Lin-Manuel Miranda is on a mission to help the devastated island of Puerto Rico. And heā€™s recruited some of the biggest names in entertainment to assist his efforts.

Tonight, the Hamilton creator released a benefit record titled ā€œAlmost Like Praying,ā€ which features a star-studded lineup including Jennifer Lopez, Fat Joe, Camila Cabello, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, Gina Rodriguez, and Gloria Estefan.Ā Ā 

Everyone on the track pic.twitter.com/oCKcWUax5R

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 6, 2017

#ForPR PorPR šŸ‡µšŸ‡·šŸ‡µšŸ‡·šŸ‡µšŸ‡· @LuisFonsi @MarcAnthony https://t.co/BrjBFV8Rry pic.twitter.com/WkSE5P5q93

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 1, 2017

Thanks to @fatjoe for carrying the baton last night in the studio when I couldn't, I'll never forget it 'mano šŸ‡µšŸ‡·https://t.co/BrjBFV8Rry pic.twitter.com/nDXZ1jOSTW

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 3, 2017

šŸ‡µšŸ‡·šŸ‡µšŸ‡·šŸ‡µšŸ‡·šŸ‡µšŸ‡·#ForPR #PorPR https://t.co/BrjBFV8Rry pic.twitter.com/N4b5Tk6mv7

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 1, 2017

Miranda, whose parents moved from New York to Puerto Rico, recently spoke about the track on CNN.

"It's a love letter to Puerto Rico," he said. "I had the idea at 3 in the morning. ... The initial demo was me singing in a bathroom. [ā€¦] To every artist, I've said, 'Can you help out on this song?' And they said yes. Without even hearing the song, everyone's joined in.ā€

The song is a remake of the West Side Story number ā€œMaria,ā€ and includes the name of every city and town in Puerto Rico. You can download ā€œAlmost Like Prayingā€ hereĀ or stream it below via Spotify. Proceeds from the track will go toward HispanicFederation.org to help the victims of Hurricane Maria.

ā€œI know there's a tendency for fatigue because we've just been through two hurricanes. And we can't be fatigued when it comes to our fellow Americans," Miranda told CNN. ā€œ[ā€¦] Food is scarce, water is scarce and everyone is doing everything they can to alleviate that as quickly as possible [ā€¦] We are doing what Hamilton did, we're jumping up and down and screaming for support.ā€

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