A few years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda read a biography of Alexander Hamilton, the founding father shot by his political rival. “By the end of the second chapter,” says Miranda, whose first Broadway play, In the Heights, won the Tony, “I was like, ‘Oh, Hamilton is Tupac.’ This guy wrote his way out
of poverty to become right-hand man to General Washington. It’s Jay Z’s story; it’s Lil Wayne’s story.”
The resulting hip-hop musical, Hamilton, which he wrote and stars in, won raves off-Broadway and
is one of New York’s hottest tickets months before its Broadway bow.
Check out the rest of the Hot List here