Walter Hill’s 1979 movie The Warriors, adapted from Sol Yurick’s 1965 novel, illustrates a gritty diagram of New York City controlled by fiercely territorial groups.
Warriors, a fresh concept album inspired by the same narrative, launches with a dancehall-flavored intro by Jamaican vocalist Shenseea, succeeded by Bronx native rapper Chris Rivers stepping into the track to represent and introduce his district. This paves the way for the succeeding quartet of voices: Nas (representing Queens), Cam’ron (Manhattan), Ghostface Killah and RZA (Staten Island), and Busta Rhymes (Brooklyn).
Soon after follows an electrifying reminder that this is indeed a theatrical musical production by Lin-Manuel Miranda, as numerous Broadway stars (Phillipa Soo, Amber Gray, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Aneesa Folds, Kenita Miller, Sasha Hutchings, Gizel Jiménez, and Julia Harriman) appear, portraying the gender-reversed namesake gang.
However, the final twist comes when Lauryn Hill takes the stage as Cyrus, a soon-to-be-murdered gang leader advocating for the gangs to cease hostilities and seize control of the city from the police, who they outnumber three to one. While Miranda’s Hamilton Mixtape, released after that musical’s 2015 triumph, included many hip-hop icons, his compositions have never sounded so, well, intense.