Lin-Manuel Miranda stopped by comedian Marc Maron’s WTF podcast on Monday and revealed a surprising anecdote from his days at Manhattan’s Hunter College High School in the 90s: legendary underground political rapper Immortal Technique was his high school bully.
“He was our school bully,” Miranda said. “He terrorized kids, he threw them in the garbage. I got thrown in the garbage by him.”
And in what was perhaps foreshadowing of the Burr-Hamilton duel Lin-Manuel would go on to stage, Coronel wound up getting a part in the school play senior year. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, I’m in a fucking play with the dude that scares the shit out of all my friends,” Miranda recounted.
But though some people never heal from the traumatic wounds of high school, Lin-Manuel seems to have moved past it. He had nothing but praise for Immortal Technique. “He’s one of the most political, ideological [rappers], he really made an incredible life for himself as a rapper,” he said. “He was a really angry kid and it’s been wonderful to watch him grow up and find a political outlet for that anger.”
Brb, we’re off to write musical theater fanfic in which Lin-Manuel and Immortal technique battle rap about gentrification and America’s impending political apocalypse.
Listen to the full episode here; the Immortal Technique anecdote comes up around the 39:00 mark.