Before Lin-Manuel Miranda hit the cypher circle with Black Thought and Questlove at the 2015 BET Hip Hop Awards, he was performing in the hit Broadway play Hamilton, which he calls a "love letter to hip-hop."

Although the play chronicles the life of some of America's founding fathers like Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, the creator of the Broadway sensation throws in a number of hip-hop references as well. Biggie, DMX and Mobb Deep are just some of the rap greats made by his co-stars. "There's all the 90s hip-hop I grew up listening to," Miranda explains in a behind-the-scenes interview for the BET Hip Hop Awards.

But while prepping for the cypher, the work didn't stop for Miranda, who performs eight shows of Hamilton a week. But when he was presented with the opportunity to participate in the famous cypher, he "jumped at the chance" and brought some of his cast along. Apparently the only time they had to write rhymes were in between shows.

"People would laugh, Jefferson and Hamilton backstage writing their best 16 bars between shows," Miranda shares.

Representing New York's Washington Heights neighborhood, Miranda was the first up in the cypher followed by Renee Elise Goldsberry, who plays his onstage wife Angelica, and Daveed Diggs, who portrays the role of Jefferson.

"It's really exciting. We don't often get a chance to do something like this. It's a little different from BET but I hope they like it," he says.

For more information about the show, visit the BET Hip Hop Awards online here. Tickets for Hamilton are available here.

See 2015 BET Hip Hop Red Carpet Photos

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