muMs da Schemer
| MuMs the Schemer | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Craig Grant 1968 (age 47–48) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Other names |
muMs da Schemer, Craig muMs Grant |
| Occupation | Actor, poet |
| Years active | 1997–present |
Craig Grant (born 1968), known as muMs the Schemer, is an American poet and actor best known for his role as Arnold "Poet" Jackson on the HBO series Oz.[1]
Biography
muMs the Schemer was born in New York City and raised in the Bronx, New York.[2] He first gained attention as a poet and performer when he was featured in the documentary SlamNation, which followed him and the other poets of 1996 Nuyorican Poetry Slam Team (Saul Williams, Beau Sia and Jessica Care Moore) as they competed at the 1996 National Poetry Slam.
In the book Words In Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam, author Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz wrote of muMs's time in the poetry slam, 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.[3]"
muMs has gone on to act in films and television shows such as Boston Legal, Bamboozled and Everyday People [4] as well as making an appearance on Chappelle's Show as "Lysol" in the "Mad Real World" skit. He has performed his poetry on seasons 2, 3 and 4 of HBO's Def Poetry. In 2016, muMs was featured as a recurring character, Ricardo, on three episodes of Horace and Pete, a web series written and directed by Louis C.K.
muMs is also a member of the New York City's LAByrinth Theater Company. In October 2007, muMs played a role in "A View from 151st Street", a play about people trying to reconstruct their lives after gunfire.[5] In September 2014, muMs wrote and performed "A Sucker Emcee", hip-hop and slam poetry, based on his personal recollections.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]
In 2016 muMs guest-starred in the Netflix series Luke Cage in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
References
- ↑ Collins-Hughes, Laura. "Versifying Above the Footlights". The New York Times. September 14, 2014. p. AR6.
- ↑ Soloski, Alexis. "Rescued by Music Long Ago, He Sets His Life Story to Hip-Hop". The New York Times. September 24, 2014. p. C3.
- ↑ 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. Page 135. ISBN 1-933368-82-9.
- ↑ "Craig muMs Grant". IMDb.
- ↑ Isherwood, Charles. "A Shot in the Night and Its Aftermath". The New York Times. p. E3.
- ↑ Kozinn, Allan. "Craig Grant Show Opens Labyrinth Season". The New York Times. July 26, 2014. p.C2.
- ↑ Collins-Hughes, Laura. "After Poetic Confessions, Resenting the Applause". The New York Times. February 17, 2015. p. C3.
- ↑ Brantley, Ben. "Returning Home Is No Escape". The New York Times. February 24, 2015. p. C1.