muMs da Schemer

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!"

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 1999 Bringing Out the Dead Voice in Crowd 2000 Bamboozled Mau Mau: Hard Blak 2002 Morning Breath Grant Short 2004 Everyday People Ali 2005 Dark Water Platzer's Backseat Client On the One Sharif Winning Yesterday Delivery Man Short 2007 Interview Cab Driver Rhyme Animal Shiva Short 2008 Asylum - Short Ball Don't Lie Fat Chuck Showdown of the Godz Bernard Short The Brooklyn Heist Moose 2009 An Englishman in New York DJ The Good Heart Judge Breaking Point Buster Biggs 2011 Identical Chief Grant 2013 Side Effects Wards Island Orderly Heads Up Foster Short Ice Doughboy Short 2014 Birdman Broadway Man Lazarus Rusty 2016 A Northern Star Edna's Nurse Short Invisible Museum Guard Short 2017 The Price Iji Upla Good Time Denny Sketch Delivery Man Short The Middlegame Jonathan Short Love Beats Rhymes MuMs da Schemer 2018 Monsters and Men Uncle Bobby Love Magical Loan Officer The Great Pretender Barry BlacKkKlansman Jabbo Hover John 2020 The Whistler Coach Keickman Short 2021 No Longer Suitable for Use - Short No Sudden Move Jimmy The Scrapper Leon 2022 Life After You Terry Wright Bitcon -

Television Year Title Role Notes 1997–2003 OZ Arnold "Poet" Jackson Recurring Cast 2002 Hack Omar Episode: "My Brother's Keeper" 2003 Chappelle's Show Lysol Episode: "Mad Real World & Ask A Gay Dude" 2003–05 Def Poetry Jam Himself Recurring Guest 2004 The Jury Curtice Redding Episode: "Last Rites" 2006 The Sopranos Mop Episode: "The Fleshy Part of the Thigh" Law & Order: Criminal Intent Cousin Chet Episode: "To the Bone" 2007 Honesty Mailman Episode: "Black Mailman" Boston Legal Joseph Washington Recurring Cast: Season 4 2008 Law & Order Freddie Episode: "Challenged" 2009 Cold Case Zeb 'Zen' Edwards '09 Episode: "Read Between the Lines" 2013 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Eddie Baker Episode: "Beautiful Frame" East Willy B Ray Episode: "Operation Strike Team" 2014 The Knick Hernia Patient Episode: "The Busy Flea" Blue Bloods Leon Bendix Episode: "Under the Gun" 2015 Nurse Jackie Wayne Episode: "Deal" 2016 Horace and Pete Ricardo Recurring Cast Luke Cage Reggie "Squabbles" Episode: "Step in the Arena" 2017–19 She's Gotta Have It Cash Jackson Recurring Cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 2 2019 NCIS: New Orleans Larry Episode: "Reckoning" City on a Hill Truancy Officer Episode: "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" 2020 High Maintenance Cedric Episode: "Screen" Bull Walter Mora Episode: "Off the Rails" The Last O.G. Reggie Episode: "Warning" 2020–21 Hightown Wayne Grasa Recurring Cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 2 2021 All the Queen's Men Paul Harold Recurring Cast: Season 1

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

Documentary Year Title Role 1998 SlamNation Himself