Craig O'Neil Grant (December 18, 1968 – March 24, 2021), also known as Craig muMs Grant and muMs the Schemer, was an American poet and actor best known for his role as
Arnold "Poet" Jackson
The characters of '' Oz'', fictional characters on the television series about prison life, are a diverse mixture of inmates from various gangs and prison staff.
Main inmates Key
Other inmates The Aryans
The Aryans are a f ...
on the HBO series ''
Oz''.
Life and career
Grant was born in New York City and raised in
the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
.
His father, Samuel, was a locksmith and carpenter at
Montefiore Hospital, and his mother, Theresa (née Maxwell), was a teacher.
He attended Mount St. Michael Academy High School,
Bronx, New York
The Bronx () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York. It is south of Westchester County, New York, Westchester County; north and east of the ...
. He
first gained widespread attention as a poet and performer when he was featured in the documentary ''
SlamNation
''SlamNation'' is a documentary film by director Paul Devlin. The film follows the National Poetry Slam in Portland, Oregon.
It follows the 1996 Nuyorican Poetry Slam team (Saul Williams, Beau Sia, muMs da Schemer and Jessica Care Moore) as th ...
'', which followed him and the other poets of 1996
Nuyorican
Nuyorican is a portmanteau of the terms "New York" and "Puerto Rican" and refers to the members or culture of the Puerto Ricans located in or around New York City, or of their descendants (especially those raised or currently living in the N ...
Poetry Slam Team (
Saul Williams,
Beau Sia
Beau Sia (, born 1976) is an American Poetry slam, slam poet.
Life and career
Sia was born in Ohio. He is of Chinese-Filipino descent. Raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Sia discovered spoken word poetry on MTV as a teenager. When not particip ...
and
Jessica Care Moore
Jessica Care Moore (born October 28, 1971) is an American poet. She is the CEO of Moore Black Press, executive producer of BLACK WOMEN ROCK!, and founder of the literacy-driven jess Care moore Foundation. An internationally renowned poet, playwri ...
) as they competed at the 1996
National Poetry Slam The National Poetry Slam (NPS) is a performance poetry competition where teams from across the United States, Canada, and, occasionally, Europe and Australia, participate in a large-scale poetry slam. The event occurs in early August every year an ...
.
Grant took the name "muMs" when he was 20 and performing in a rap group. Due to retaining traces of a childhood lisp, a friend suggested he call himself “Mumbles”, which Grant shortened to "muMs", as an acronym for "manipulator under Manipulation shhhhhhh!"
In ''Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam'', author
Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz ( ; born November 26, 1978) is an American nonfiction writer and poet.
Life
A native of Philadelphia, Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz graduated from Central High School of Philadelphia in 1996 and received a B.F.A. in Dramati ...
wrote of Grant's time in slam poetry, noting his writing "was street poetry at its purest. Thoughtful, precise but not without humor, his work spoke honestly about the life he and his friends and family lived and the city that he loved.
[Aptowicz, Cristin O'Keefe. (2008). ''Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam.'' ]Soft Skull Press
Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company distributed by Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Avalon Publishing Group's Shoemaker & Hoard and the independent S ...
, pg. 135; "
muMs performed his poetry on seasons 2, 3 and 4 of HBO's ''
Def Poetry Jam
''Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry'', better known as simply ''Def Poetry Jam'' or ''Def Poetry'', is a spoken word poetry television series hosted by Mos Def and airing on HBO between 2002 and 2007. The series features performances by estab ...
'', and was a member of New York City's
LAByrinth Theater Company
LAByrinth Theater Company is a non-profit, Off-Broadway theater company based in New York City. Led by Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz for many years, its artistic director is Ortiz. The New York Times described it in 2014 as "an ethnically ...
. In October 2007, muMs played a role in ''A View from 151st Street'', a play about people trying to reconstruct their lives after gunfire.
In September 2014, muMs wrote and performed "A Sucker Emcee", hip-hop and slam poetry, based on his personal recollections.
In February 2015, muMs' play, titled "Paradox of the Urban Cliché", about a young couple living in Harlem, was performed at the Wild Project as part of the Poetic Theater Productions's Poetic License festival.
In February 2015, muMs played a role in "The Insurgents", a play about rage among the free, brave, and disenfranchised, produced by LAByrinth Theater Company.
Grant guest-starred in the 2016 Netflix series ''
Luke Cage
Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...
'' as Reggie "Squabbles", and was featured as a recurring character, Ricardo, on three episodes of
Louis C.K.
Louis Alfred Székely (; born September 12, 1967), known professionally as Louis C.K. (), is an American stand-up comedian, screenwriter, actor, and filmmaker. C.K. won three Peabody Awards, three Grammy Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and a ...
's web series ''
Horace and Pete
''Horace and Pete'' is an American web series created, written, and directed by Louis C.K., who describes it as a tragedy. In addition to C.K., the series stars Alan Alda, Steve Buscemi, Edie Falco and Jessica Lange. Dealing with the themes of ...
''. He appeared in two films by
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker.
Soderbergh's direc ...
, and had supporting roles in films including ''
Bringing Out the Dead
''Bringing Out the Dead'' is a 1999 American psychological drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader, based on the novel of the same name by Joe Connelly. It stars Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, V ...
'', ''
Bamboozled
''Bamboozled'' is a 2000 American satirical dark comedy-drama film written and directed by Spike Lee about a modern televised minstrel show featuring black actors donning blackface makeup and the resulting violent fallout from the show's success ...
'', ''
Birdman'', and ''
Good Time''.
Death
Grant died in
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States.
With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...
on March 24, 2021, aged 52. His manager, Sekka Scher, said the cause was complications of diabetes.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Craig
1968 births
2021 deaths
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American writers
21st-century American poets
Place of death missing
Male actors from New York City
African-American male actors
African-American poets
Slam poets
Writers from New York City
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American male voice actors