Warriors (Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis album)

Warriors
Studio album by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis
Released	18 October 2024
Genre	Musical theatre, popular music
Label	Atlantic Records
Producer	Mike Elizondo
Lin-Manuel Miranda chronology
Hamilton: The German EP (2023) Warriors (2024) Mufasa: The Lion King (2024)

Warriors is a concept album by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis that was inspired by the 1979 action film The Warriors.^[1] The album was released on 18 October 2024 by Atlantic Records; it was executive-produced by Nas and produced by Mike Elizondo.^[2]

The American singer-songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda first saw the movie The Warriors (1979) at age four on a VHS videocassette and, according to him, the story was "on two stone tablets in my head" since then.^[3][4]

In 2009, shortly after Miranda's stage musical In the Heights opened on Broadway, his friend Phil Westgren suggested basing a musical on The Warriors. Miranda initially told Westgren the idea would never work. After his first run of performing in Hamilton, he realised he had been thinking about adapting The Warriors since then. In 2022, Miranda proposed a collaboration on the project to Eisa Davis, who had never seen the movie.^[3][5]

In August 2023, New York Post was the first media outlet to report Miranda was working on a stage musical adaptation of Sol Yurick's novel The Warriors.^[6][7] In July 2024, it was reported Miranda was completing the recording of a concept album for a new musical adaptation of the eponymous movie.^[8]

In August 2024, the album's release date was confirmed; The New York Times said it was unclear whether the album would lead to a stage musical, while the Los Angeles Times described earlier reports the album was to be a stage production as "speculation". The New York Times noted: "Hamilton was initially conceived as a concept album, and there is a history of concept albums evolving into stage productions, from Jesus Christ Superstar to Hadestown'".^[2][1] Following the album's release, Miranda and Davis downplayed immediate plans for a stage production, noting they did not have a theatrical producer or director attached, and choosing instead to focus on the album as the project's main goal.^[9] In December 2024, in an interview with The New York Times following the release of Mufasa: The Lion King, Miranda said he and Davis were planning to start discussions about a stage adaptation in early 2025.^[10]

Associated Press described Warriors as being "at the intersection of musical theater and popular music", but noted it touches on various genres like "a diverse buffet, reflecting New York".^[11] Billboard also describes the album as "genre-hopping".^[5] Michael Paulson, a theater reporter at The New York Times, lists the album's genres as "rap and hip-hop, salsa and merengue, ska and sounds from ballroom culture, R&B and funk". He adds there are nods to K-pop ("We Got You"), and dancehall (Shenseea's vocals on "Survive the Night").^[12]

Warriors also includes elements of metal music for the character Luther, who is voiced by Kim Dracula. Miranda initially tried writing rap verses for Luther, attempting to match rhythms to the character's thinking patterns as he had done in Hamilton. He found rap sounded too methodical and organized. Eisa played Miranda some music by the metal band Alekhine's Gun and they chose this sound for its "chaotic energy".^[12][13]

On Warriors, each of New York City's five boroughs is represented by well-known rap artists. Miranda has said it was very intimidating "to write verses for some of the greatest writers we have". Davis has said while the raps were written for each performer's own rhythms, because take pride in never having been ghostwritten, he was unsure they would be able to perform someone else's lines. According to Miranda, the performers had to make a key shift in recognizing they are playing a role, not themselves, but that they can still "bring what we love about them as emcees to the table".^[5][14]

According to Miranda, one of his proudest moments as a lyricist was getting approval from Nas for the verse written for him, which is based on a recording of Miranda performing the lines. While writing the verse, Miranda had wondered: "Do I have a Queens metaphor [Nas] hasn't tried in his long and amazing career?", ultimately choosing a chess metaphor.^[14]

Miranda told the theatrical magazine Playbill: "The album says 'by both of us', and it really is by both of us"; both Miranda and Davis are credited as its authors without delineation of their roles. According to Miranda: "pretty much every Warriors bassline" started as a voice memo from Davis to him. One such voice memo appears six seconds into the album's first track as its first sung material.^[15]

Some tracks were written as a broader collaboration with the album's band as part of jam sessions at the Tennessee home of the producer Mike Elizondo.^[15]

During the writing process, Miranda swapped early demos with Andy Samberg, who was working on The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience. Miranda and Samberg had met on the set of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and realized they were both working on concept albums about what Miranda describes as: "weird super-niche [19]80s things that maybe we're the only ones who really care about". He said on Late Night with Seth Meyers: "weirdly, Bash Brothers is the cousin of Warriors".^[16]

Warriors was released on 18 October 2024 with a launch party at Brooklyn's Time Out Market the day before. A vinyl copy of the album was played before its midnight release to streaming services. At the party, Time Out unveiled a digital magazine cover that includes a photograph of Miranda and Davis in the subway car that was used in the 1979 film and is now housed in New York Transit Museum.^[17][18]

Miranda said he was touched by the reaction of his son Francisco to the album release: "Daddy, can we hum it at school now?" He knew he was not allowed to sing tracks from the album until its release. Davis said his son "was under NDA".^[19]

In December 2024, Lin-Manuel Miranda officially announced in an interview^[20] with The New York Times he and Eisa Davis would be adapting the well-received concept album into a full stage show, saying: "People really like it, but because we're such a visual culture, everyone said to me and Eisa 'OK, when can we see it?' ... So I think at the top of the year, Eisa and I will just start having conversations about how to adapt that to the stage."^[21]

DJ Lynne Pen broadcasts to the gangs across New York City's five boroughs, announcing a gathering at Van Cortlandt Park organized by Cyrus of the Gramercy Riffs ("Survive the Night"). The Warriors, an all-women gang from Coney Island, meet to travel uptown; they follow Cyrus's instructions to leave their weapons at home ("Roll Call"). At the park, The Warriors perform their signature rhyme ("Warriors' Cypher"). Cyrus arrives ("Make Way For Cyrus") and makes a public call for a truce among the gangs to ensure peace ("If You Can Count"). Though her call receives support, Luther, a member of the Rogues, kills Cyrus. The Rogues blame the killing on the Warriors' leader Cleon—the only person to see Luther kill Cyrus. Cleon orders the Warriors to flee as the Riffs attack her ("Derailed"). With Cleon missing, Warriors' member Swan takes charge of the group; this annoys the group's fighter Ajax, and they decide to regroup at Union Square Station before returning to Coney Island ("Woodlawn Cemetery").

The DJ announces the breaking of the truce and that a hit has been placed on the Warriors. The Warriors avoid an attack by the Turnbull AC's of the Bronx and board a train ("Leave The Bronx Alive"), but are cut off by a track fire, forcing them to continue on foot to find another train. Luther contacts other members of the Rogues to inform them of his deed and the plan to blame it on the Warriors ("A Track Fire And A Phone Call"). Luther tells his partner Cropsy of their plan to "watch the world burn" ("Going Down"). The Warriors encounter the Orphan gang and persuade their leader Sully to let them through by feigning weakness. Mercy, Sully's girlfriend, disrupts the proceedings by asking for Swan's vest and goading Sully to ask the same. When the Warriors refuse, the Orphans prepare to attack them. Ajax and Swan throw a Molotov cocktail and scare off the Orphans ("Orphan Town"). Mercy, enamored with the Warriors' bravery, decides to leave the Orphans to follow them ("Call Me Mercy"). Meanwhile, the Riffs interrogate Cleon about Cyrus' death. Cleon proclaims her innocence and persuades the new leader Masai to let her help them find the real killer ("Still Breathin'").

The House of Hurricanes, a ballroom group from Spanish Harlem, force the Warriors off the train and accuse them of killing Cyrus. Believing their innocence, the House of Hurricanes decide not to attack the Warriors and instead warn them running away makes them look guilty, and that they will need to fight on the streets to survive ("Quiet Girls"). The Warriors stop at Gray's Papaya, despite Swan urging them to focus on getting home. The Baseball Furies, a West Side gang, attacks the Warriors ("Outside Gray's Papaya"). Ajax, tired of running, rallies the Warriors to repel the Furies' attack in Riverside Park ("Sick of Runnin'"). In the park, a man solicits the women, who try to ignore him, but Ajax decides to attack him. The man handcuffs Ajax and reveals himself as an undercover cop, and the rest of the Warriors flee as Ajax fights off the reinforcements and becomes separated ("The Park at Night"). Ajax is arrested or killed. Luther and Cropsy learn about Ajax's fate and mock the Warrior's plight ("Luther Interlude").

The Warriors, without Swan and Mercy, arrive at Union Square, where they encounter the Bizzies, a cardigan-wearing, all-male gang ("Cardigans") who claim to be sympathetic to their plight and offer them shelter at their East Village apartment. Cochise, Cowgirl, and Fox are convinced while Rembrandt is suspicious ("We Got You"). While hiding in a subway tunnel, Mercy begs Swan to make her a Warrior. Mercy and Swan fall in love with each other ("A Light Or Somethin'"). As the Bizzies seduce the Warriors at their apartment, Rembrandt realizes the Bizzies are planning an ambush and persuades the Warriors to leave ("We Got You (Reprise)"). Cleon convinces the Riffs Cyrus's killer is probably on Coney Island ("Somewhere In the City"). Swan and Mercy reunite with the rest of the Warriors at Union Square Station, but an encounter with police interrupts their attempt to board a train to Coney Island. Fox, the group's youngest member, distracts the police captain by instigating a fight on the platform, preventing him from telling the conductor to stop the train. The brawl allows the rest of the group to escape but Fox is thrown off the platform into the path of an oncoming train, killing her ("Reunion Square").

The Warriors, shocked at Fox's death, return to Coney Island in silence. As the DJ describes the inner lives of the other passengers on the train, Mercy and Swan kiss ("Same Train Home"). Upon arrival at Coney Island, the Warriors eulogize their lost members and induct Mercy into the group. In the distance, they see Luther approaching them in a hearse ("Finale Part I: The Wonder Wheel"). With Swan leading, they draw Luther to the beach, where Swan challenges Luther to a duel. Luther accepts the challenge and draws his gun, but Swan disarms him. The Rogues abandon their leader and flee. The Riffs arrive and Cleon identifies Luther as Cyrus's killer to Masai. Masai commends the Warriors for their bravery and the Riffs attack Luther ("Finale Part II: The Coney Island Shore"). Cleon reunites with the Warriors, and the group expresses their hope Cyrus's dream will be fulfilled one day and the city's streets will be at peace ("Finale Part III: When We All Come Home Alive").

Miranda told Fast Company approaching this project as an album, rather than a show, allowed him to work with artists he would not otherwise be able to. He said some of his "dream collaborators" would never commit to a Broadway schedule of performing eight times a week, but could spend a couple of days in a studio.^[4] This approach allowed Miranda and Davis to focus on the music. Miranda told Playbill: "We got to free ourselves from thinking about how they're going to stage it ... Not our problem. Our job was to just musicalize it to the best of our ability". Logan Culwell-Block, writing for Playbill, commented this might be especially helpful because some aspects of the Warriors story, such as the fight sequences and numerous location changes, are not things musicals on traditional proscenium stages are known for doing well.^[15]

Miranda describes gender-flipping the characters of The Warriors was key to him understanding how his adaptation could be interesting to write. He told the Associated Press if the Warriors are women "at every point, it complicates [the narrative] in a really compelling way". In the same interview, Davis added: "I think that it's just so crucial to think about this—it's a group of women that no one believes. Everyone is accusing you falsely, ... and what is it that you do? What is it that you try?"^[3]

The 2014-2015 misogynistic online harassment campaign Gamergate was part of Miranda's inspiration for the gender flip. Miranda likens the campaign's doxing of women to Luther's actions in The Warriors, saying: "Luther shoots Cyrus, turns to the Warriors and goes 'they did it'. Then they have to deal with the consequences for the rest of the night, with everyone wanting to kill them."^[4][3] Davis also found inspiration in the 1971 Hoe Avenue peace meeting, a real inter-gang truce that took place in the Bronx; Davis said: "The women who were at that peace meeting were made to sit in the back, and the gangs that were all femme were not even allowed to come into that meeting. So in some ways, I feel like this is a vindication for them."^[22]

Eisa Davis describes Warriors as a "love letter to the origins of hip-hop". She connected the story of Warriors to the Hoe Avenue peace meeting, which she says enabled "the cultural conditions that created hip-hop officially in 1973. There was a shift from being a gang that's at war with other gangs to being a crew that is going to battle other crews as MCs, as great dancers, as graffiti writers, as DJs". When she first watched the 1979 movie with Miranda, she only knew of it because it has been referenced in hip-hop.^[14] Vulture said the movie's "unforgettable lines echo across hip-hop history". It gives examples like the line "I be like, 'Warriors, come out and play' ", rapped by Ol' Dirty Bastard on Wu-Tang Clan's debut album, and the video for California Love by 2Pac featuring Dr. Dre, starting with "Can you dig it?" as spoken by Cyrus.^[23]

Lin-Manuel Miranda describes producer Mike Elizondo as his and Eisa Davis's "third collaborator"; they spent two weeks at a studio in Nashville, Tennessee, recording the album. Miranda said of the process: "If you're a musical theatre writer, the only time you're in the studio is when you're making the cast album of the stage show. To get to be in Nashville for two weeks with Mike's favorite musicians and figuring out what these tracks sounded like [felt like] indulgence as a musical theatre writer to just really focus on the songs and how they sound and not worry about staging".^[4]

Lauryn Hill's vocals were recorded separately from the rest of the album. Aneesa Folds recorded a demo vocal on the track that was sent to Hill. During a later photography shoot, Miranda received a text message from Hill's management with a Dropbox link to a file containing Hill's vocals. Miranda immediately went to a changing room to listen to the song.^[4]

Miranda recorded the voices of his two sons when they would not leave him to work on the album at their home. His six-year-old son Francisco gave a 20-second scream, which is used in a loop with reverb on "Derailed". Miranda describes the scream as providing "the harmonic backbone of the track". His nine-year-old son Sebastian whispers "run" at the end of the same track.^[19] Davis and Miranda also contributed vocals; a voice memo Davis created during the writing period is used as a horn line in the opening song. Davis's voice also appears on the album; Miranda's voice also appears at one point, although he remains coy about its exact location.^[22]

Featured on the album are:^[24][3][25]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Guardian	[26]
Financial Times	[27]

In reference to the album's gender flip, Financial Times's reviewer Ludovic Hunter-Tilney asks whether the 1979 "macho flick" The Warriors has been "put in a wokehold"; they conclude it has been, but to good effect. Hunter-Tilney noted the film's gang violence is largely "cartoon fantasy", and so the story's "transformation into a girl-power parable is hardly a leap". Hunter-Tilney said the role of the radio DJ—"an ancient Greek chorus in the film"—is less-well used in Warriors, but praised "droll embellishments" like "the cringy ska-pop sung by dweebish loser gang the Orphans".^[27]

Chris Wiegand of The Guardian noted "one of the album's joys is its unexpected pairings, especially how musical theatre stars are matched with acts from other genres", citing Alex Boniello's and Kim Dracula's duet on "Going Down" in particular. Wiegand also noted the "poignant yearning" of Julia Harriman's performance on "Call Me Mercy" as a highlight that gives the character a larger role than in the film, where she is "reduced to a love interest". The use of lines from the screenplay in the lyrics of "If You Can Count" is praised for building them "into something much more resonant".^[26]

The headline of Carl Wilson's review at Slate states the album "pulls too many punches". Wilson criticises the action scenes for lacking a sense of menace, saying the album seems "sealed inside a nicey-nice musical-theater bubble". He gives examples of the Warriors' easy acceptance of Swan's and Mercy's "queer love", and the fact the story features only a single gun, which "doesn't feel like it has anything to do with gang life now". According to Wilson, Miranda's and Davis's storytelling feels restricted by 2024 politics, "as if there's so much they cannot say, so much that many people really feel we can't discuss right now lest it be seized on and misused in bad faith".^[28]

Both Slate and Vulture noted the album's big-name hip-hop stars do not appear beyond the first track, the latter saying spreading out these cameos may have helped prevent the album being seen as "nuclear-grade cringe" by rap fans.^[23] Similarly, Slate said Miranda benefits from the second-hand credibility these artists bring because his version of hip-hop "smacks of corniness to those who aren't already musical-theater fans".^[28]

Craig Jenkins of Vulture said Warriors showcases many of Miranda's positive traits as a songwriter, but also less positive "quirks" that are "sources of the deserved gripes against him". According to Jenkins, Miranda is "plagued by" "occasional G-rated schmaltz", and tends toward an "overbearing maximalism and good-intentioned liberalism", which can sometimes "wring an uplifting takeaway from an objectively bleak situation".^[23]

Warriors debuted at number one on Billboard's compilation albums chart, and reached the top 25 in Billboard's Top Current Album Sales and Top Album Sales charts.^[29] In the UK, the album peaked at number 29 on the Official Charts Company's compilation albums chart, and at 34 on the album downloads chart, spending a week in the top 40 of each.^[30]

• Official website