Lin-Manuel Miranda Names His Favorite Rappers Of All Time

By now, even the freshest fans of Lin-Manuel Miranda are aware of the fact that his hip-hop-inspired musical "Hamilton" is filled with veiled references to history's best rappers.

Stuck between the obvious homages to America's Founding Fathers -- Alexander Hamilton among them -- are subtle nods to LL Cool J, Mobb Deep, Notorious B.I.G., Ja Rule, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and many, many others.

In a recent interview at the Rockefeller Foundation, Miranda answered the tough questions related to his hip-hop fandom. When asked to name his favorite rapper of all time, he agreed to pinpoint five of them. Of course, Biggie was number one:

1. Biggie
2. Big Pun
3. Eminem
4. Jay Z Lauryn Hill
5. André 3000

And yes, the Tony Award winner originally named Jay Z amongst his top five, but then struck him from the list when he remembered that Lauryn Hill reigns supreme.

Good call, Mr. Miranda. As a wise woman told us, two MCs cannot occupy the same space at the same time.

To read more from Miranda's discussion at the Rockefeller Foundation's Insight Dialogue series, check out our past coverage here.