Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis select 10 concept albums

Welcome back to Digging cratesour recurring feature that delves deep into music history and unearths several albums that all music fans should know. In this edition, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis discuss concept albums that have inspired them over the years, including the time spent on their new project, Warriors.

Lin-Manuel Miranda surrounds itself with people who are willing to help musical theater move forward. Miranda, the creator of Hamilton and the person responsible for the Moana song that you still can’t get out of your head, knew he needed someone with a clear perspective to bring his next project to life.

“I think I always get excited about musicals where the scores feel like they’re in conversation with the world,” the Grammy and Tony winner explains. “I notice it when I hear a score from someone who only listens to musicals, as opposed to any other genre of music. But the scores that excite me are things like American idiot And Sarafina!. As long as it’s in conversation with music and our real world, I’m excited about it.”

Miranda talks via video with his collaborator, the playwright, actor and songwriter Eisa Daviswith whom he developed Warriorsa concept album inspired by the 1979 film of the same name. Anyone familiar with the cult classic who tunes into the LP will find a story turned on its head, gender-swapped and injected with an amalgam of genres executive produced by Nas.

It’s a star-studded affair: Lauryn Hill, Ghostface Killah and RZA are intertwined with Broadway figures like Amber Gray, Phillipa Soo, Joshua Henry and Jasmine Cephas Jones; Elsewhere, the album features hardcore artist Kim Dracula, pop heartthrob Stephen Sanchez and actor Colman Domingo, and that’s not all. It’s a lot to take in, but it certainly doesn’t sound like it was written by people who only listen to musical theater.

In fact, Davis and Miranda not only feature a wide range of albums that they select as inspiring its ethos Warriorsbut they also have the kind of creative overlap that makes such an ambitious undertaking a little more logical. They are two people who absolutely love art that pushes boundaries and broadens the listener’s worldview.