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Craig Grant
Born
Craig O'Neil Grant

(1968-12-18)December 18, 1968
Died (aged 52)
Other names Craig muMs Grant
Occupation Actor, poet
Years active 1996–2021

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 on the HBO series Oz.

Life and career

Grant was born in New York City and raised in the Bronx. 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. He first gained widespread 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.

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 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."

muMs performed his poetry on seasons 2, 3 and 4 of HBO's Def Poetry Jam, and was a member of 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.

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 as Reggie "Squabbles", and was featured as a recurring character, Ricardo, on three episodes of Louis C.K.'s web series Horace and Pete. He appeared in two films by Steven Soderbergh, and had supporting roles in films including Bringing Out the Dead, Bamboozled, Birdman, and Good Time.

Death

Grant died in Wilmington, North Carolina on March 24, 2021, aged 52. His manager, Sekka Scher, said the cause was complications of diabetes.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2021 No Sudden Move Jimmy Credited as Craig muMs Grant; Posthumous release
2017 Good Time Denny Credited as Craig muMs Grant
2017 The Price Iji Upla Credited as Craig muMs Grant
2014 Birdman Broadway Man Credited as Craig muMs Grant
2013 Side Effects Wards Island Orderly Credited as Craig muMs Grant
2008 The Brooklyn Heist Moose
2007 Interview Cab Driver Credited as Craig muMs Grant
2004 Everyday People Ali
2000 Bamboozled Mau Mau: Hard Blak Credited as Mums
1999 Bringing Out the Dead Voice in Crowd Credited as muMs
1998 SlamNation Himself Documentary

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2021 All the Queen's Men Paul Harold 3 episodes
2020–2021 Hightown Wayne 4 episodes
Credited as Craig muMs Grant
2020 The Last O.G. Reggie Episode: "Warning"
Bull Walter Mora Episode: "Off the Rails"
Credited as Craig muMs Grant
2017–2019 She's Gotta Have It Cash Jackson 4 episodes
Credited as Craig muMs Grant
2016 Horace and Pete Ricardo 3 episodes
Credited as Craig muMs Grant
Luke Cage Reggie "Squabbles" Episode: "Step in the Arena"
Credited as Craig muMs Grant
2013 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Eddie Baker Episode: "Beautiful Frame"
2009 Cold Case Zeb 'Zen' Edwards '09 Episode: "Read Between the Lines"
2007 Boston Legal Joseph Washington 3 episodes
Credited as Craig muMs Grant
2006 The Sopranos Mop Episode: "The Fleshy Part of the Thigh"
2003–2005 Def Poetry Jam Himself 3 episodes
2003 Chappelle's Show Lysol "The Mad Real World" skit
1997–2003 Oz Arnold "Poet" Jackson 49 episodes

Video games

Year Title Role
2009 Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned DeSean
2008 Midnight Club: Los Angeles Ian
Grand Theft Auto IV The Crowd of Liberty City
2005 The Warriors Additional Soldier
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