Daveed Diggs

Daveed Diggs, born January 24, 1982, in Oakland, California, is an American actor and rapper who has built a distinctive career spanning theater, hip-hop, and film. A graduate of Brown University, he first developed his craft performing in West Coast theater before co-founding the experimental hip-hop group clipping, known for pairing avant-garde noise production with dense, technically precise rapping.

Diggs achieved major mainstream recognition originating the dual roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the Broadway musical Hamilton, a performance that won him the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. His rapid-fire delivery and charisma in songs like «What'd I Miss» and «Washington on Your Side» showcased his ability to fuse hip-hop technique with musical theater storytelling in a way few performers before him had achieved.

Beyond Hamilton, Diggs has continued to work across mediums, contributing voice performances such as Sebastian in Disney's live-action The Little Mermaid, appearing in film and television, and continuing to record with clipping., whose work often explores horror, science fiction, and experimental sound design within a rap framework. His career reflects a rare fluency across musical theater, underground hip-hop, and mainstream entertainment.