Lin-Manuel Miranda and The Roots' Tariq discuss Harry Potter, election in freestyle battle

Lin-Manuel Miranda has to freestyle about these words
(Image credit: The Tonight Show)

The featured game on Tuesday's Tonight Show pitted Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda against Tariq Trotter of The Roots, Jimmy Fallon's house band, because, as Fallon said, "I am not a freestyle rapper." A random word generator gave Miranda and Trotter three words, and they had to fit them into a freestyle rap, and the first two raps were pretty impressive — though if we're going to be picky, "Sirius Black" and some Hogwarts spells aren't really saying "Harry Potter" — but Miranda's last one seems to have gotten a word or two past NBC's censors. Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.