Getty Image
Lin-Manuel Miranda has had a fascinating career arc. The playwright shot to stardom behind the runaway success of his historical hip-hop musical Hamilton, but then, fans quickly felt that the market was oversaturated after the cast was booked to perform on seemingly every late-night show and award show for a solid year (certain optics didn’t help either). Miranda moved onto other projects, but the more he did, it seemed, the more fans wished he’d do less.
I know SNL is bad now and everything but a few years back they had a good joke during a sketch about a new Lin-Manuel Miranda. It was a fake commercial and the VO guy said “Starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, voted Best Rapper by NPR listeners!”
— BILL RYAN (@faceyouhate) August 1, 2024
That was the general sentiment on social media when Manuel announced his next project: a concept album inspired by the 1979 cult classic film, The Warriors. I must admit, I’ve been softer on Miranda than most — Hamilton is good, Miranda’s a decent technical rapper with legit hip-hop chops, and the Moana and Encanto soundtracks are leagues better than either Frozen — and I declared no longer than a week ago that the “Rap Concept Album Is Back,” and even I’m a little skeptical, albeit cautiously so.
Uhhhh…WHAT??!! @Nas @Lin_Manuel pic.twitter.com/qhQO8s4POx
— The Stone The Builder Refused (@EyeKnowOne) August 2, 2024
lin manuel miranda what in the genloss is this pic.twitter.com/7hKVLJODZH
— tilda (@sirecht) August 1, 2024
i loathe the man but lin manuel miranda’s newest project seems like potentially the least irritating option he could have chosen to do next
— jas for hire (@portabible) August 1, 2024
He’s interested in the same things I am but wrongly.
— Penny Holiday (@Manteeth) August 1, 2024
Aggressive, incendiary pass
— Russell Brown (@RussHBrown) August 1, 2024
If there’s anyone I’d trust to be able to pull it off, it would be Miranda. The album will feature a full cast, recounting the plot of the film, which follows a small band of New York City gangbangers as they fight their way back to their Coney Island stomping grounds from a meetup gone wrong in the Bronx. At the very least, it’s closer in historical context to the rise of rap music than the retelling of nation’s founding, as The Warriors and “Rapper’s Delight” were released within six months of each other (the former on February 9, 1979, the latter on August 2).
The album’s got some legit hip-hop bonafides behind it, too; it’s executive-produced by none other than Nas. Also, let’s be real; remake-mania has already come for The Warriors, which a lot of you only know because Rockstar made a video game about it, so not too much on my man Lin, alright?