East Bay Rapper Daveed Diggs Wins Tony Award For 'Hamilton' Role
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- From the Bay Area to the biggest show on Broadway, a rapper and an actor won a prestigious Tony award for his work in the smash Broadway musical, "Hamilton."
Oakland native and Berkeley High graduate Daveed Diggs isn't exactly a founding father of Bay Area hip hop. He's more like one of its founding brothers. And in "Hamilton," he has found a home.
Diggs plays two parts, the future president Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette, in this rap-inspired retelling of the birth of the nation.
The production won 11 Tony Awards, including Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Diggs, and was nominated for 16 Tonys. The performance also earned Diggs a Grammy Award as well as three other industry awards. But then, Diggs has always stood out, even when he was 6 years old at Berkeley's Walden Center & School.
"Daveed had this big, bushy hair that he ran around with a beautiful smile," said Walden teacher Naru Kwina.
It seems little has changed. But Kwina, who runs Walden's after-school programs, says there was no way to predict Diggs would become a Broadway star.
"He didn't have that voice as a little kid, of course … a little squeaky voice like most kids," said Kwina. "Yeah, I didn't see the bass coming, either."
Later, with the hair a little shorter at Berkeley High, Diggs made his name on the track team. His name remains today on the side of the gymnasium and in the school's record books. But back then, English teacher Amy Crawford could see he was even faster with words.
"He was a great lyricist and wrote great poetry," said Crawford. "We had some Shakespeare poetry slams up at the Berkeley Rep that he just blew our minds with."
Diggs was voted "Most Dramatic" in his class. He graduated and, after college, became a familiar voice in local hip hop. The precision of the Oakland style of rap trained him to deliver rapid-fire lyrics. In fact, one of Diggs' songs in "Hamilton" is said to have the fastest lyrics in the history of Broadway. At one point, Diggs raps 19 words in three seconds flat. It's the kind of dramatic flair a growing number of fans have come to expect.
"I dragged my husband to one of his shows and I said to Rich, 'you know, he's a great actor but he could be President one day.' And turns out, he's both!" exclaimed Crawford.
The smash hit musical won 11 Tony Awards, including the one awarded to this Bay Area native.
"Hamilton" is coming to San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre in March 2017 as part of a national tour. The specific dates have not yet been announced
