But Topdog/Underdog is a fated tale laced with woe. The premise is surreal, with plenty of comedic stretch. While he tries to rope Lincoln into his enterprise, Lincoln is adamant about only doing honest work: performing as an Abraham Lincoln impersonator at a local arcade, where mostly white attendees shoot at him. Kenny always says the show isn’t over until the ghostlight comes on – so that Kendrick song will always play all the way out.Booth spends his days lifting goods from stores and practicing the art of the card game hustle. “Now we start to think about what we just saw – we start to process, because the feelings are deep and rich. I don’t know what it would feel like if the show ends and it’s just applause and no sound at all – I feel like that would be draining,” Ellington explains. “And when he starts - ‘I come from a generation…’ - it’s setting it up like, “Listen to me,” and “me” could be Booth or Lincoln or the kid sitting next to you or yourself.” The track isn’t meant to speak directly to the stunning last scene of the play, but to “get people out of the theater with some kind of resonance of that intensity without speaking specifically to it. “There’s something about the intensity of it – it starts with this tension, the same note playing over and over, this rhythm that’s pushing,” says Ellington. Once the play is over, the audience leaves the theater as this standout Mr. I think it’s one of the first songs in the mix where the lyrics are super present there’s something about it that really stands out.”

It’s offering a different perspective to the story you’re about to hear, preparing your ears for trial and tribulation among people and different forms of that. There are people that really love that song: it’s a touchstone in their lives.” And lyrically, “Wow, it’s on point. “That’s like the song that brings in a different generation.

The pre-show mix is a tour through hip-hop/R&B classics and innovators, from Flying Lotus and Thundercat’s “MmmHmm” to D’Angelo’s “Devil’s Pie” to Marvin Gaye’s “Trouble Man.” But “’Reminisce Over You’ gets them every time,” says Ellington of the ‘90s classic. “They Reminisce Over You,” Pete Rock & C.L. “This show does so much, so we’re constantly looking for balance, and the music helps settle us a bit throughout it.” He spoke to Billboard about some of the Topdog/Underdog playlist highlights, and what they add to an already multi-layered night at the theater. “This is music we let into our homes to bring levity, balance…sometimes music is an escape, but it can also pull you in,” Ellington reflects. The mix Ellington eventually landed on touches on diverse eras of hip-hop and R&B, adding to the timeless feel of the play’s action.

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