In 2008, a musical about a bodega in Washington Heights, In the Heights, won four Tony’s including “Best Musical.” That musical was the brain child of composer and star Lin-Manuel Miranda. Almost a decade later, Miranda has taken on a completely subject: former Treasury Secretary and Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton.

Miranda takes Maria Hinojosa on a tour of northern Manhattan and reveals the unexpected connection between the Founding Fathers and today’s hip-hop culture.

Hamilton is currently playing at the Public Theater and is scheduled to open at the Richard Rodgers Theater on Broadway in August.

Photo by Joan Marcus