VIDEO: Lin-Manuel Miranda Adds His Own Annotations To HAMILTON on Genius

As reported by BroadwayWorld, hip-hip aficionados and history nerds from around the country have been visiting the website Genius, billed as "the world's biggest collection of song lyrics and crowdsourced musical knowledge," contributing to its effort to fully annotate the entire score of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway smash Hamilton by pointing out the show's multitude of musical and historic references.

Now the author himself has gotten into the act, contributing his own annotations that provide insight into the dramatist's determination to present a story that was a true representation of the founding fathers translated into the vernacular of a 20th and 21st Century musical form.

"I use Genius as much as the next hip-hop head," Miranda explains in Vanity Fair. "I'm a fan of the ethos behind it. The greatest hip-hop packs in so much information, allowing the listener to dig into layer upon layer of meaning."

As explained in the musical's opening, Alexander Hamilton was able to sail to America from his home in St. Croix because his poetry about a hurricane that devastated the island was recognized by patrons who funded his education.

"Hamilton literally wrote a verse to get him off an island," author notes. "That's the most hip ­hop shit ever. He transcends the struggle, and if you look at your favorite rapper, that's most likely what they did."

Examples of his work include:

Burr: "How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore, and a Scotsman/dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence/Impoverished, in squalor/Grow up to be a hero and a scholar?"

"With this being the first line of the show, I wanted to outline the improbability of this situation. This is the story of hip-­hop. It's Tupac's image of the rose that grew out of some concrete. It's Richard Pryor growing up in a brothel, to being one of the greatest comedic geniuses of our time. Real genius, like Hamiltonian genius, will survive its circumstances. This type of genius is simply undeniable. And it's an immigrant story, too, which reminded me of my father, who came here at 18 from Puerto Rico, not speaking a word of English and selling newspapers."

The Ten Duel Commandments

"This song started with a dramaturgical impulse. The audience needs to understand what dueling was like back then. This was not drive bys. This was not heated people taking their guns out outside of bars. This is not what happens today with our gun control issues. This wasn't beef in the same way beef is today. It was super codified; there was a ritual about it. It was like legal arbitration - with guns. So, I came up with the idea of doing "Ten Dual Commandments" because "Ten Crack Commandments" is a how-to guide for illegal activity in the 90s. And this is a how-to guide for illegal activities in the 1790s."

Click here for his complete annotations on Genius.

But despite the author's commitment to history, he is also committed to drama. In this video he responds to Genius' question about historical inaccuracies.

The new musical Hamilton has book, music and lyrics by Tony and Grammy Award-winning composerLin-Manuel Miranda, who also plays the title role. The musical is directed by Thomas Kail, with choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler and music direction and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire. Hamilton is inspired by Ron Chernow's biography "Alexander Hamilton."

The cast of Hamilton is comprised of Lin-Manuel Miranda (Alexander Hamilton), Daveed Diggs(Marquis De Lafayette,Thomas Jefferson), Renée Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schuyler),Christopher Jackson (George Washington),Jonathan Groff (King George), Jasmine Cephas Jones (Peggy Schuyler, Maria Reynolds), Javier Muñoz (Hamilton alternate), Okieriete Onaodowan(Hercules Mulligan, James Madison), Leslie Odom, Jr. (Aaron Burr),Anthony Ramos(John Laurens, PhilipHamilton) and Phillipa Soo (Eliza Hamilton).

HAMILTON is the acclaimed new musical about the scrappy young immigrant Alexander Hamilton, the $10 Founding Father who forever changed America with his revolutionary ideas and actions. During his life cut too short, he served as George Washington's chief aide, was the first Treasury Secretary, a loving husband and father, despised by his fellow Founding Fathers and shot to death by Aaron Burr in their legendary duel.