I was on my way to my friend’s birthday
party when that lyric showed up when
death doesn’t discriminate showed up in
my head any time you’re going to put
something new into the world there’s a
million people who will tell you how
they’ve done it better before she’s a
really reserved guy and he went awesome
credible idea no one’s gonna write your
dream thing for you you’ve got to make
it I hope I don’t drop these carbs you
ready we’re gonna cure all right he’s an
American actor composer rapper and
writer he’s best known for creating and
starring in the Broadway musicals
Hamilton and in the heights he’s won a
Pulitzer Prize two Grammys and Emmy and
three Tony Awards among others he’s
lin-manuel Miranda and here’s my take on
his top ten rules for success
rule number one is my personal favorite
and make sure to stick around all the
way to the end for some special bonus
clips also as he’s talking if he says
something that really really resonates
with you please leave it in the comments
below put quotes around it so other
people can be inspired as well enjoy
– right Hamilton but I know we like as
teenagers like if we’re writing an essay
like and we have trouble little God if
you want to give up did you ever feel
like that all the time all the time
and then you push through it like you
push through it because what’s the
alternative you’re gonna leave that idea
stuck in your head forever that sucks
the alternative is you go through life
and you had this great idea and nothing
came of it because you got tired and
yeah sometimes you don’t go to the party
that all your friends are at because the
idea is calling to you in that moment
wait for it’s a great example of that I
was on my way to my friend’s birthday
party when that lyric showed up when
death doesn’t discriminate showed up in
my head idea came on the a down I
started writing it down in the train and
lucky Nita of the a train break dancers
are dancing I have my headphones on I
get out I the whole chorus comes all at
once I write it down and I suddenly see
the shape of the whole song I was just
like the chorus is bur that’s who he is
I go into my friends party I go hey
what’s that man happy birthday I got to
go I get on the L train and I write the
rest of the song on the way back home
from the L to the a back up – 207 Street
you have to do that sometimes you have
to say no to your friends to say yes to
your work because what you’re gonna do
like lose that idea because you decide
to like have a drink with your friends
like it’s not worth it your friend will
be there
you know yes the answer is yes
you always get a lot of rejection
anytime you’re going to put something
new into the world there’s a million
people who will tell you how they’ve
done it better before or how that’s
already been done or how it’s not going
to work and you have to look at those as
motivators just like you’re going into
acting you can’t look at auditioning as
a way of getting a job you have to look
at auditioning as the job because that’s
what you’re going to spend the majority
of your time doing if you love it
getting the job is gravy so sure the the
trickiest thing is continuing to work
and I was very lucky with Heights that I
had Tom Cale because I had someone who
wasn’t me saying bringing something
Friday bringing something on Friday this
is good this part feels weird bringing
another song on Friday every week for
eight years
you send unfinished work – Stephen
Sondheim for him to critique yeah what
is paralyzed by the time I said yeah
Steve just tell me what you think how
does that work and are you really really
don’t know I think it’s a Muldoon’s a
crazy idea it’s a crazy idea but in my
head it was a really good idea and
sometimes what you need are people to
just not say that’s a terrible life and
to be very careful about it then you let
in when you’ve had a good idea because
people get crush it for you even though
I stick to this other thing and if you
trust that person you love that person
it can really affect your own view of
your work I’ve learned that
ideas die in front of me because people
I respect go maybe not that I want so
much mine but I was on vacation I picked
up Cheerios book and I started reading
it reading it to my wife and being like
there’s something here right this is why
I’m not a crazy person and my wife
doesn’t know that’s a really cool idea
like that’s as responsible for this as
anything and I remember when I first met
its all-time it was to do translations
for the last revival of our outside
story and we talked we talked shop we
talked about where it should translate
what I shouldn’t and we kind of talked
about that for about a half an hour then
he asked me like what are you thinking
about next because Heights was running
at the time was its first year and I
said I think I had this idea Alexander
Hamilton and he threw up his head it
made this and she’s a really reserved
guy and you had that the most incredible
idea I just instantly got an alert
and that’s also as responsible for us
being here as anything that early
encouragement isn’t just you know this
whole thing and he’s proved it with his
career is continued to vary and like
lead into what scares you and lean into
what people don’t think makes a good
musical and make that listen the show
ain’t medicine it’s not like you take a
hit of Hamilton and start making good
decisions would that it were it’s a show
it’s a musical it’s not going to cure
your hips
how can you cure your rash it’s it’s an
evening of entertainment but what I
think it does across the board and I
know this from the 3 a.m. emails I get
from the friends who have seen it is
because Hamilton did so much in his
short time on earth it forces you to
reckon with what you’re doing with your
time the last questions of the song are
the last words of the show our time and
who tells your story who lives who dies
who tells your story and so you leave
the theater wondering tells my story and
that’s that’s always a good perspective
to have I think I think it you know we
get so caught up in the day-to-day of
living that it’s you know Thorton Wilder
taught it to us in our town how many of
us really experienced life while we’re
living it and I think the takeaway from
Hamilton is embracing a reminder to do
that
I think Hamilton was ready to die from
the time he was 14 years old I think he
had I think what he has some I have
which is that thing of tomorrow’s not
promised
I gotta get as much done as I can so I
think he had this curious fascination
with an obsession with death cuz he saw
it at such a young age his mother died
in bed next to him
they both got sick she never got better
so what does that do to you what does
that do to your psyche what does it do
to you what does do to me yes well it
makes me think that my main characters
got you know he sees death everywhere um
I know I do but I guess my voice just
said to me there what he had in him I
have in me yeah do it do it do it yeah
but you know and you know we can say
well yes and but we get things done and
we still have to plan for a know next
week you know Hamilton had an
appointment on the books that day that
he went to that duel in the morning his
hope was gonna have lunch that day he
didn’t know he was gonna die mean a part
of him thought he might die that morning
but he also had plans you know how we
all live to live a great life you must
be prepared to fail sure and to die
maybe as well yeah and that’s why the
things that are the scariest to us are
those seeds we plant that might outlive
us having children getting married
you’re putting into the world things
that you might not live out to see and
it’s so scary but it’s also so hopeful
what words of advice you have about
choosing to be an artist for career um
if you wanted to anything else to it
that’s not live the comments are
scurrying away that’s not even a joke
it’s you will not make your rent by
being an artist you will not live a
comfortable life
you’ll not a four house in the Montclair
School District you won’t you will if
you beat insurmountable odds and have an
extraordinary amount of good luck as I
have had and what if it is something
that you can’t help but do anyway if
it’s the fingers doing when no one’s
paying you to do it then if they pay you
to do it it’s going to be great so what
I would tell you figure out the job that
you like that will pay your rent if you
want to be an artist figure out the job
that allows in time to feed your soul
that way and then everything else is
gravy
I think it’s forged in part by I
couldn’t see away for me to have a
career in musical theater based on the
musicals that already existed I don’t
dance well enough to play Bernardo or
Paul in A Chorus Line and I don’t really
have an operatic enough voice to play
the Man of La Mancha and if you’re
Latino dude that’s all you get or that’s
all you got for a while that’s just that
was the reality and you know my senior
year in high school there’s a musical
called the cake man by Paul Simon it’s
written by Paul Simon starred Mark
Anthony
Ruben blades and neaten Osorio if you
were to write my dream collaborators and
cast you would have created cape man and
it came and went it was a sort of a
notorious Broadway flop and it was also
in addition to opening and closing very
quickly it was like a slap across the
face hey no one’s going to write your
dream musical no one’s going to do it
for you
and that’s when I started I think in the
heights was born out of the ashes of the
cape man it was out of the ashes of no
one’s gonna write your dream thing for
you you’ve got to make it and I had been
writing one-act musicals in high school
and I doubled down on
because I realized the only way to have
a career in this world that I loved
Conrad birdie gold lemme jacket was to
write it and that’s what in the heights
was was in Knight was my way of writing
a Latino story line in which we never
played gang members once and you know
that’s that was that was I felt a very
well explored by the musical theater
community section Puerto Rican gang
members you guys got it
zoot suit you know West Side Story K man
like well covered
let’s do cover the million other things
Latinos too I’m out of college I’m 23
years old and Tommy Cal and I are
meeting with a veteran theater producer
to pay rent I am a professional
substitute teacher at my old high school
Tommy is Audra McDonald’s assistant
Tommy is directing in the heights and
with his genius brain in my corner my 80
minute one-act is now 2 at this big deal
theater producer has seen a reading we
put on in the basement of the drama book
shop in midtown Manhattan and he is
giving us his thoughts we hang on his
every word this is a big deal theater
producer and we are kids desperate to
get our show on we are discussing the
character of Nina Rosario home from her
first year at Stanford the first in her
family to go to college the big deal
theatre producer says now I know in your
version Nina’s coming home with a secret
from her parents she’s lost her
scholarship the song is great the
actress is great what I’m bumping up
against fellas is that this doesn’t feel
high-stakes enough scholarship big deal
what if she’s pregnant what if her
boyfriend at school hit her
what if she got caught with drugs it
doesn’t have to be any of those things
you’re the writer
but do you see what I’m getting at guys
a way to ramp up the stakes of your
story I resist the urge to crack my
shoulder
we get through the meeting and Tommy and
I again alone look at each other he
knows what I’m gonna say before I say it
pregnant
I know Nina on drugs I was there but he
wants to put our show up Tommy looks at
me that’s not the story you want to tell
and it’s not the show I want to direct
there are ways to raise the stakes that
are not that will just keep working if I
could get in a time machine and watch
any point in my life it would be this
moment the moment where Tommy Cal looked
at uncertain frazzled me desperate for a
production and a life in this business
tempted and said no for us
I keep subbing he continues working for
Audra we keep working on in the heights
for five years until we find the right
producers in Jill Fuhrman and Kevin
McCollum and Jeffrey seller until Philly
native Kiara who this becomes my
co-writer and reframes our show around a
community instead of a love triangle
until Alex lack of ore and Bill strim
and take my songs and make them come to
life through their orchestrations it
will be another five years before
Heights reaches Broadway exactly as we
intended it how you were able to learn
and improve your freestyle rap skills oh
this is a great question there you’re
kidding yourself if you think anyone
comes by it naturally it’s a power that
you have to develop over time and when I
was in high school I was two sided to
out friends in high school were really
good at it and I was the beatboxing kid
muffled rustle
and then college written so much by the
time I got into college that I started
doing for fun with my friends and just
getting less and less afraid and I can
remember one College Road Trip I took it
was was with three friends we decided to
trial until recommend this we decided to
drive to Vegas and back in a week never
get to Vegas and back everyone who left
us was like they’re different but I got
Kansas 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. shift so
it’s me driving all we have are these
cans of Red Bull and everyone else in
the car is passed out and I remember
popping it we made a bunch of mixtapes
for the ride he’d worn them all out by
the time we got to about 20 hours in but
I just started drinking Red Bulls and
popping in these hip-hop cassettes and
rapping to myself like I and the Kansas
I’m crazy man this is crazy yep and just
literally talking to myself
autonomy survival can deter the next
person’s turn to drive I was good at
Kansas and white like gas station for
gas station bar by the end of it I was
like a new arrived and then freestyle
Love Supreme of the other part of that
is that I’m in a hip-hop group where we
do show is where we don’t plan what’s
gonna happen we get suggested for the
audience and we have a beatboxer we have
2000 keys and we just make up the show
and we just forced ourselves into that
insane situation and did it until we got
good at it
and so I’ve had my 10,000 by Malcolm
Gladwell II intend though at that and
now it’s sort of now it’s almost like an
Instagram filter in my brain like if I
make an acceptance speech at the Grammys
or the Tony’s like it’s easier for me to
make it rhyme than to have to speak as
much why did the Jimmy Fallon thing I
was much less nervous to play we love
freestyle that I was to talk myself
here’s how it’s going to work I’m going
to hit this button here which activates
a random word generator and it’ll land
on three random words and it’s your job
to work all three of them into a
freestyle rap sound good yes sir okay
good great now since I’m not a freestyle
rapper tonight you’ll be facing off
against our very own Tariq Trotter from
the roots and it’s tricky okay here you
go uh here’s the microphone here okay
push the button here you push the button
here to start the word generator come on
oh and ease no way no well no here we go
rainbow Pancake slam-dunk
he’s got her these words before okay so
this is not rehearse rainbow Pancake
slam dunk ruse can you give him a beat
microphone Chuck what is this I fly my
rainbow flag LGBTQ business oh yes I got
so much love to give and look at the
colors it’s like ROYGBIV all starting
from the bottom like my man Drake
applying it to our eggs like a pancake
I’ll bring any star you run out slam
duck like Michael
Michael Jordan wouldn’t tell ya oh my
god how do you do that Oh awesome
oh man oh man that’s fantastic
there’s some serious business right here
Eileen the Rose Garden right now we are
this is the Rose Garden right here
Lea it must be a little nerve-racking I
hope I don’t drop these cards you ready
we get in the queue all right drop the
beat he’s throwing up some words I’m
gonna say some freestyling that you’ve
never heard Constitution the POTUS I’m
freestyling you know this Obamacare Oh
cake I’m looking up because it was
hopeless before you enact with that
system the Federalist Papers Hamilton
wrote the other 51 and greater and Sonny
young ball is canine it’s same as a nine
oh my god silence on the line
I wanna see if we can get over to Mars
and wrap more bars or spit bars and
leave a carbon footprint on it and lower
my emissions and this is Linda
freestyling the congresista transmission
I hope a Congress works to our agenda
innovations important you really gotta
center yourself and create something we
need a new justice for the Supreme Court
in short oh my gosh this is ruffles for
boys and immigrants we get the job done
this is so fun
POTUS is holding up the signs of my son
it’s the Oval Office oh my gosh I can’t
believe I’m there it’s so much more
intimidating than if it was square for
opportunity knocks and I can’t stop I’m
here with the president and my pots and
yo the Mike drops how good is that
that’s you think that’s going viral
that’s gone viral
I did not see those words prior
so thank you guys again for watching I
believe in you I hope you continue to
believe in yourself and whatever your
one word is much love I’ll see you soon
I think of mixtapes as sonic love
letters and I think a lot of my creative
energy in high school wasn’t spent
literally making mixtapes
to girls I liked to for friends of mine
who I wanted them to get to know who I
was it was easier for me to say this 90
90 minutes on this Maxell cassette tape
defines who I am I put and the
difference due to mixtape or a mix CD or
data CD or whatever they have now is
that you have to listen to it
consecutively so I’m taking you on a
ride I’m gonna start with a high-energy
song I’m going to switch it up and I
might put it in a funny interlude from
like an Adam Sandler simpie or something
then I’m gonna hit you with my fourth
song is always the most important that’s
the one who would tell me who I really
am but I have been one in the fourth one
that’s bad and clean up it’s literally
4th on the lineup and I really I think I
still build scores the way I used to
make mixtapes or girls I’m thinking of
okay we’ve been in this energy for a
while now I got to wake you up alright
now we can afford to sit in a ballad for
a little while and so when I approach
when I read Ron’s book and I started
thinking about I thought of it the way I
thought of making mixtapes for my
friends it’s I’m going to take you on
this ride and the rides going to happen
to tell the story of this man’s land the
first step is to draw you in yes
yeah the first song on mixtape is
everything it depends whether you fat
you fast but if you thought prose in the
first song you messed up right right
you’re not going to pluck press play
we’re gonna get a good roll like I’m not
tired of playing Hamilton I could I mess
up in a new place every night I get one
certain part better than I’ve ever
gotten it every night I think I will be
revisiting it for the rest of my life
so but it’s no accident the best idea I
ever had happened on vacation so that’s
important too as Arianna Huffington
notes resting is just as important and I
always knew I’d do a year I did a year
when I was in in the heights and so I’m
just kind of you know that’s that’s my
capacity and then I can let other ideas
into my brain
just like my country I’m gonna strap me
in hungry and I’m not going away my shot
shot
shut it
strap it on
I think we all God
shop
it’s gonna take
take a shot
my way
Hamilton
I’m not throwing away my shot
party when that lyric showed up when
death doesn’t discriminate showed up in
my head any time you’re going to put
something new into the world there’s a
million people who will tell you how
they’ve done it better before she’s a
really reserved guy and he went awesome
credible idea no one’s gonna write your
dream thing for you you’ve got to make
it I hope I don’t drop these carbs you
ready we’re gonna cure all right he’s an
American actor composer rapper and
writer he’s best known for creating and
starring in the Broadway musicals
Hamilton and in the heights he’s won a
Pulitzer Prize two Grammys and Emmy and
three Tony Awards among others he’s
lin-manuel Miranda and here’s my take on
his top ten rules for success
rule number one is my personal favorite
and make sure to stick around all the
way to the end for some special bonus
clips also as he’s talking if he says
something that really really resonates
with you please leave it in the comments
below put quotes around it so other
people can be inspired as well enjoy
– right Hamilton but I know we like as
teenagers like if we’re writing an essay
like and we have trouble little God if
you want to give up did you ever feel
like that all the time all the time
and then you push through it like you
push through it because what’s the
alternative you’re gonna leave that idea
stuck in your head forever that sucks
the alternative is you go through life
and you had this great idea and nothing
came of it because you got tired and
yeah sometimes you don’t go to the party
that all your friends are at because the
idea is calling to you in that moment
wait for it’s a great example of that I
was on my way to my friend’s birthday
party when that lyric showed up when
death doesn’t discriminate showed up in
my head idea came on the a down I
started writing it down in the train and
lucky Nita of the a train break dancers
are dancing I have my headphones on I
get out I the whole chorus comes all at
once I write it down and I suddenly see
the shape of the whole song I was just
like the chorus is bur that’s who he is
I go into my friends party I go hey
what’s that man happy birthday I got to
go I get on the L train and I write the
rest of the song on the way back home
from the L to the a back up – 207 Street
you have to do that sometimes you have
to say no to your friends to say yes to
your work because what you’re gonna do
like lose that idea because you decide
to like have a drink with your friends
like it’s not worth it your friend will
be there
you know yes the answer is yes
you always get a lot of rejection
anytime you’re going to put something
new into the world there’s a million
people who will tell you how they’ve
done it better before or how that’s
already been done or how it’s not going
to work and you have to look at those as
motivators just like you’re going into
acting you can’t look at auditioning as
a way of getting a job you have to look
at auditioning as the job because that’s
what you’re going to spend the majority
of your time doing if you love it
getting the job is gravy so sure the the
trickiest thing is continuing to work
and I was very lucky with Heights that I
had Tom Cale because I had someone who
wasn’t me saying bringing something
Friday bringing something on Friday this
is good this part feels weird bringing
another song on Friday every week for
eight years
you send unfinished work – Stephen
Sondheim for him to critique yeah what
is paralyzed by the time I said yeah
Steve just tell me what you think how
does that work and are you really really
don’t know I think it’s a Muldoon’s a
crazy idea it’s a crazy idea but in my
head it was a really good idea and
sometimes what you need are people to
just not say that’s a terrible life and
to be very careful about it then you let
in when you’ve had a good idea because
people get crush it for you even though
I stick to this other thing and if you
trust that person you love that person
it can really affect your own view of
your work I’ve learned that
ideas die in front of me because people
I respect go maybe not that I want so
much mine but I was on vacation I picked
up Cheerios book and I started reading
it reading it to my wife and being like
there’s something here right this is why
I’m not a crazy person and my wife
doesn’t know that’s a really cool idea
like that’s as responsible for this as
anything and I remember when I first met
its all-time it was to do translations
for the last revival of our outside
story and we talked we talked shop we
talked about where it should translate
what I shouldn’t and we kind of talked
about that for about a half an hour then
he asked me like what are you thinking
about next because Heights was running
at the time was its first year and I
said I think I had this idea Alexander
Hamilton and he threw up his head it
made this and she’s a really reserved
guy and you had that the most incredible
idea I just instantly got an alert
and that’s also as responsible for us
being here as anything that early
encouragement isn’t just you know this
whole thing and he’s proved it with his
career is continued to vary and like
lead into what scares you and lean into
what people don’t think makes a good
musical and make that listen the show
ain’t medicine it’s not like you take a
hit of Hamilton and start making good
decisions would that it were it’s a show
it’s a musical it’s not going to cure
your hips
how can you cure your rash it’s it’s an
evening of entertainment but what I
think it does across the board and I
know this from the 3 a.m. emails I get
from the friends who have seen it is
because Hamilton did so much in his
short time on earth it forces you to
reckon with what you’re doing with your
time the last questions of the song are
the last words of the show our time and
who tells your story who lives who dies
who tells your story and so you leave
the theater wondering tells my story and
that’s that’s always a good perspective
to have I think I think it you know we
get so caught up in the day-to-day of
living that it’s you know Thorton Wilder
taught it to us in our town how many of
us really experienced life while we’re
living it and I think the takeaway from
Hamilton is embracing a reminder to do
that
I think Hamilton was ready to die from
the time he was 14 years old I think he
had I think what he has some I have
which is that thing of tomorrow’s not
promised
I gotta get as much done as I can so I
think he had this curious fascination
with an obsession with death cuz he saw
it at such a young age his mother died
in bed next to him
they both got sick she never got better
so what does that do to you what does
that do to your psyche what does it do
to you what does do to me yes well it
makes me think that my main characters
got you know he sees death everywhere um
I know I do but I guess my voice just
said to me there what he had in him I
have in me yeah do it do it do it yeah
but you know and you know we can say
well yes and but we get things done and
we still have to plan for a know next
week you know Hamilton had an
appointment on the books that day that
he went to that duel in the morning his
hope was gonna have lunch that day he
didn’t know he was gonna die mean a part
of him thought he might die that morning
but he also had plans you know how we
all live to live a great life you must
be prepared to fail sure and to die
maybe as well yeah and that’s why the
things that are the scariest to us are
those seeds we plant that might outlive
us having children getting married
you’re putting into the world things
that you might not live out to see and
it’s so scary but it’s also so hopeful
what words of advice you have about
choosing to be an artist for career um
if you wanted to anything else to it
that’s not live the comments are
scurrying away that’s not even a joke
it’s you will not make your rent by
being an artist you will not live a
comfortable life
you’ll not a four house in the Montclair
School District you won’t you will if
you beat insurmountable odds and have an
extraordinary amount of good luck as I
have had and what if it is something
that you can’t help but do anyway if
it’s the fingers doing when no one’s
paying you to do it then if they pay you
to do it it’s going to be great so what
I would tell you figure out the job that
you like that will pay your rent if you
want to be an artist figure out the job
that allows in time to feed your soul
that way and then everything else is
gravy
I think it’s forged in part by I
couldn’t see away for me to have a
career in musical theater based on the
musicals that already existed I don’t
dance well enough to play Bernardo or
Paul in A Chorus Line and I don’t really
have an operatic enough voice to play
the Man of La Mancha and if you’re
Latino dude that’s all you get or that’s
all you got for a while that’s just that
was the reality and you know my senior
year in high school there’s a musical
called the cake man by Paul Simon it’s
written by Paul Simon starred Mark
Anthony
Ruben blades and neaten Osorio if you
were to write my dream collaborators and
cast you would have created cape man and
it came and went it was a sort of a
notorious Broadway flop and it was also
in addition to opening and closing very
quickly it was like a slap across the
face hey no one’s going to write your
dream musical no one’s going to do it
for you
and that’s when I started I think in the
heights was born out of the ashes of the
cape man it was out of the ashes of no
one’s gonna write your dream thing for
you you’ve got to make it and I had been
writing one-act musicals in high school
and I doubled down on
because I realized the only way to have
a career in this world that I loved
Conrad birdie gold lemme jacket was to
write it and that’s what in the heights
was was in Knight was my way of writing
a Latino story line in which we never
played gang members once and you know
that’s that was that was I felt a very
well explored by the musical theater
community section Puerto Rican gang
members you guys got it
zoot suit you know West Side Story K man
like well covered
let’s do cover the million other things
Latinos too I’m out of college I’m 23
years old and Tommy Cal and I are
meeting with a veteran theater producer
to pay rent I am a professional
substitute teacher at my old high school
Tommy is Audra McDonald’s assistant
Tommy is directing in the heights and
with his genius brain in my corner my 80
minute one-act is now 2 at this big deal
theater producer has seen a reading we
put on in the basement of the drama book
shop in midtown Manhattan and he is
giving us his thoughts we hang on his
every word this is a big deal theater
producer and we are kids desperate to
get our show on we are discussing the
character of Nina Rosario home from her
first year at Stanford the first in her
family to go to college the big deal
theatre producer says now I know in your
version Nina’s coming home with a secret
from her parents she’s lost her
scholarship the song is great the
actress is great what I’m bumping up
against fellas is that this doesn’t feel
high-stakes enough scholarship big deal
what if she’s pregnant what if her
boyfriend at school hit her
what if she got caught with drugs it
doesn’t have to be any of those things
you’re the writer
but do you see what I’m getting at guys
a way to ramp up the stakes of your
story I resist the urge to crack my
shoulder
we get through the meeting and Tommy and
I again alone look at each other he
knows what I’m gonna say before I say it
pregnant
I know Nina on drugs I was there but he
wants to put our show up Tommy looks at
me that’s not the story you want to tell
and it’s not the show I want to direct
there are ways to raise the stakes that
are not that will just keep working if I
could get in a time machine and watch
any point in my life it would be this
moment the moment where Tommy Cal looked
at uncertain frazzled me desperate for a
production and a life in this business
tempted and said no for us
I keep subbing he continues working for
Audra we keep working on in the heights
for five years until we find the right
producers in Jill Fuhrman and Kevin
McCollum and Jeffrey seller until Philly
native Kiara who this becomes my
co-writer and reframes our show around a
community instead of a love triangle
until Alex lack of ore and Bill strim
and take my songs and make them come to
life through their orchestrations it
will be another five years before
Heights reaches Broadway exactly as we
intended it how you were able to learn
and improve your freestyle rap skills oh
this is a great question there you’re
kidding yourself if you think anyone
comes by it naturally it’s a power that
you have to develop over time and when I
was in high school I was two sided to
out friends in high school were really
good at it and I was the beatboxing kid
muffled rustle
and then college written so much by the
time I got into college that I started
doing for fun with my friends and just
getting less and less afraid and I can
remember one College Road Trip I took it
was was with three friends we decided to
trial until recommend this we decided to
drive to Vegas and back in a week never
get to Vegas and back everyone who left
us was like they’re different but I got
Kansas 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. shift so
it’s me driving all we have are these
cans of Red Bull and everyone else in
the car is passed out and I remember
popping it we made a bunch of mixtapes
for the ride he’d worn them all out by
the time we got to about 20 hours in but
I just started drinking Red Bulls and
popping in these hip-hop cassettes and
rapping to myself like I and the Kansas
I’m crazy man this is crazy yep and just
literally talking to myself
autonomy survival can deter the next
person’s turn to drive I was good at
Kansas and white like gas station for
gas station bar by the end of it I was
like a new arrived and then freestyle
Love Supreme of the other part of that
is that I’m in a hip-hop group where we
do show is where we don’t plan what’s
gonna happen we get suggested for the
audience and we have a beatboxer we have
2000 keys and we just make up the show
and we just forced ourselves into that
insane situation and did it until we got
good at it
and so I’ve had my 10,000 by Malcolm
Gladwell II intend though at that and
now it’s sort of now it’s almost like an
Instagram filter in my brain like if I
make an acceptance speech at the Grammys
or the Tony’s like it’s easier for me to
make it rhyme than to have to speak as
much why did the Jimmy Fallon thing I
was much less nervous to play we love
freestyle that I was to talk myself
here’s how it’s going to work I’m going
to hit this button here which activates
a random word generator and it’ll land
on three random words and it’s your job
to work all three of them into a
freestyle rap sound good yes sir okay
good great now since I’m not a freestyle
rapper tonight you’ll be facing off
against our very own Tariq Trotter from
the roots and it’s tricky okay here you
go uh here’s the microphone here okay
push the button here you push the button
here to start the word generator come on
oh and ease no way no well no here we go
rainbow Pancake slam-dunk
he’s got her these words before okay so
this is not rehearse rainbow Pancake
slam dunk ruse can you give him a beat
microphone Chuck what is this I fly my
rainbow flag LGBTQ business oh yes I got
so much love to give and look at the
colors it’s like ROYGBIV all starting
from the bottom like my man Drake
applying it to our eggs like a pancake
I’ll bring any star you run out slam
duck like Michael
Michael Jordan wouldn’t tell ya oh my
god how do you do that Oh awesome
oh man oh man that’s fantastic
there’s some serious business right here
Eileen the Rose Garden right now we are
this is the Rose Garden right here
Lea it must be a little nerve-racking I
hope I don’t drop these cards you ready
we get in the queue all right drop the
beat he’s throwing up some words I’m
gonna say some freestyling that you’ve
never heard Constitution the POTUS I’m
freestyling you know this Obamacare Oh
cake I’m looking up because it was
hopeless before you enact with that
system the Federalist Papers Hamilton
wrote the other 51 and greater and Sonny
young ball is canine it’s same as a nine
oh my god silence on the line
I wanna see if we can get over to Mars
and wrap more bars or spit bars and
leave a carbon footprint on it and lower
my emissions and this is Linda
freestyling the congresista transmission
I hope a Congress works to our agenda
innovations important you really gotta
center yourself and create something we
need a new justice for the Supreme Court
in short oh my gosh this is ruffles for
boys and immigrants we get the job done
this is so fun
POTUS is holding up the signs of my son
it’s the Oval Office oh my gosh I can’t
believe I’m there it’s so much more
intimidating than if it was square for
opportunity knocks and I can’t stop I’m
here with the president and my pots and
yo the Mike drops how good is that
that’s you think that’s going viral
that’s gone viral
I did not see those words prior
so thank you guys again for watching I
believe in you I hope you continue to
believe in yourself and whatever your
one word is much love I’ll see you soon
I think of mixtapes as sonic love
letters and I think a lot of my creative
energy in high school wasn’t spent
literally making mixtapes
to girls I liked to for friends of mine
who I wanted them to get to know who I
was it was easier for me to say this 90
90 minutes on this Maxell cassette tape
defines who I am I put and the
difference due to mixtape or a mix CD or
data CD or whatever they have now is
that you have to listen to it
consecutively so I’m taking you on a
ride I’m gonna start with a high-energy
song I’m going to switch it up and I
might put it in a funny interlude from
like an Adam Sandler simpie or something
then I’m gonna hit you with my fourth
song is always the most important that’s
the one who would tell me who I really
am but I have been one in the fourth one
that’s bad and clean up it’s literally
4th on the lineup and I really I think I
still build scores the way I used to
make mixtapes or girls I’m thinking of
okay we’ve been in this energy for a
while now I got to wake you up alright
now we can afford to sit in a ballad for
a little while and so when I approach
when I read Ron’s book and I started
thinking about I thought of it the way I
thought of making mixtapes for my
friends it’s I’m going to take you on
this ride and the rides going to happen
to tell the story of this man’s land the
first step is to draw you in yes
yeah the first song on mixtape is
everything it depends whether you fat
you fast but if you thought prose in the
first song you messed up right right
you’re not going to pluck press play
we’re gonna get a good roll like I’m not
tired of playing Hamilton I could I mess
up in a new place every night I get one
certain part better than I’ve ever
gotten it every night I think I will be
revisiting it for the rest of my life
so but it’s no accident the best idea I
ever had happened on vacation so that’s
important too as Arianna Huffington
notes resting is just as important and I
always knew I’d do a year I did a year
when I was in in the heights and so I’m
just kind of you know that’s that’s my
capacity and then I can let other ideas
into my brain
just like my country I’m gonna strap me
in hungry and I’m not going away my shot
shot
shut it
strap it on
I think we all God
shop
it’s gonna take
take a shot
my way
Hamilton
I’m not throwing away my shot
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