Craig muMs Grant Biography: Net Worth, Wife, Parents, Age, Movies, Religion, Death, Songs
Craig O’Neil Grant, professionally known as Craig muMs Grant and also called muMs da Schemer, was an American actor, poet, playwright and rap artist from the Bronx, New York.
He became especially prominent for portraying Arnold “Poet” Jackson on HBO’s Oz, while also building a respected career in slam poetry, theatre, film and television. He died in 2021 at age 52.
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| Wiki Facts & About Data | |
| Real Name: | Craig O'Neil Grant |
| Stage Name: | Craig muMs Grant |
| Born: | December 18, 1968 |
| Died: | Wilmington, North Carolina, United States |
| Place of Birth: | Bronx, New York City, United States |
| Nationality: | American |
| Ethnicity: | African-American |
| Religion: | Christianity |
| Parents: | Samuel Grant and Theresa Grant |
| Siblings: | Winston Maxwell |
| Occupation: | Actor, Poet, Playwright, Rap Artist |
| Net Worth: | $1 million |
Early Life and Education
Craig O’Neil Grant was born on December 18, 1968, in the Bronx, New York City, and was raised in the borough. He was the son of Samuel Grant and Theresa Grant.
His father, Samuel Grant, worked as a locksmith and carpenter at Montefiore Hospital, while his mother, Theresa Grant, was a teacher.
His upbringing in the Bronx later became an important influence on his writing, performance style and connection to New York’s spoken-word community.
He had a brother named Winston Maxwell. His religion was listed as Christianity.
Grant attended Mount St. Michael Academy in the Bronx. As a child, he was described as painfully shy, but music and performance gradually helped him develop confidence.
At the age of 11, a family friend gave him a copy of the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” which introduced him to rap and helped spark his interest in performing.
He began rapping on the sidewalks of his Bronx neighborhood alongside older boys.
Although he was initially teased because of a slight childhood lisp, he continued developing his writing and performance abilities.
At around age 20, while performing in a rap group, he adopted the name “muMs.” A friend had suggested “Mumbles” because of his speech, and Grant shortened the name to “muMs.”
He later gave the name an expanded meaning: “manipulator under Manipulation shhhhhhh!”
Grant eventually became deeply involved in New York’s poetry scene, particularly at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. He spent years developing his spoken-word craft before his work attracted wider attention.
Career
Craig muMs Grant began gaining attention as a poet before becoming a recognizable screen actor.
He was part of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe’s 1996 poetry-slam team alongside performers including Saul Williams, Beau Sia and Jessica Care Moore. The group competed at the 1996 National Poetry Slam, an experience documented in the 1998 film SlamNation.
His appearance in SlamNation helped introduce him to a broader audience. His performance poetry eventually attracted the attention of people working on HBO’s Oz.
Darnell Martin, an executive associated with the series, saw Grant‘s work and encouraged him to audition. He subsequently joined the cast as Arnold “Poet” Jackson.
Grant appeared as Poet across all six seasons of Oz, incorporating his own poetry into the character’s appearances.
The role became the defining screen performance of his career and connected his acting directly to his background as a spoken-word artist.
Grant also worked in television during the final years of his career. His later credits included Horace and Pete, She’s Gotta Have It, Hightown, Bull, The Last O.G., High Maintenance, NCIS: New Orleans and All the Queen’s Men.
Beyond acting, Grant remained committed to poetry. He performed at colleges, theatres and poetry events across the United States and Europe and appeared on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam for multiple seasons.
A 2010 biography for LAByrinth Theater Company noted that he had performed at more than 150 colleges and universities across three continents.
Grant was also a member of the LAByrinth Theater Company, joining the company in 2006.
His theatre work included A View from 151st Street and The Insurgents. His own play Paradox of the Urban Cliché was presented as part of Poetic Theater Productions’ Poetic License festival in 2015.
As a writer and filmmaker, Grant wrote and produced the short film Morning Breath, also called Morning Breath: A Brooklyn Love Story. The project was directed by Brin Hill and used one of Grant‘s poems as its narrative foundation.
The film received festival recognition, including honorable mention at Sundance and an award for best creative writing at the UrbanWorld Film Festival.
In the final period of his life, Grant continued acting despite already having established himself as a poet and theatre artist. He was filming Hightown in Wilmington, North Carolina when he became seriously ill.
Grant died on March 24, 2021, in Wilmington, North Carolina, at the age of 52. His manager, Sekka Scher, said that he died from complications of diabetes.
Social Media
- Instagram: @sirmumsila
Personal Life
Craig muMs Grant was 52 years old when he died in March 2021. Publicly available biographical records do not reliably establish a wife, long-term partner or children. He was single and Unmarried.
Grant was deeply connected to New York City, particularly the Bronx and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.
His artistic identity was strongly rooted in spoken-word performance, rap, theatre and the culture of New York’s poetry community.
He maintained a strong interest in words and language throughout his career. In an interview, Grant famously expressed his affection for dictionaries, reflecting the importance of vocabulary and writing to his creative life.
Poetry remained important to him even after his television career expanded. He continued writing poems, plays and songs and performed at universities, theatres and poetry events.
Friends and fellow performers remembered him as someone who encouraged other artists and maintained close relationships inside New York’s theatre and poetry communities.
Grant‘s work also crossed several artistic disciplines.
He combined poetry and acting on Oz, moved between stage and screen, wrote plays and short films, and incorporated hip-hop and spoken-word influences into his performances.
Net Worth
Craig muMs Grant‘s net worth is $1 million. His income came primarily from acting in television and film, poetry performances, theatre work, writing, producing and other creative projects.
Filmography
- SlamNation: The Sport of the Spoken Word (1998) — Himself / Poet
- Bringing Out the Dead (1999) — Shooting Victim’s Friend / voice role
- Bamboozled (2000) — Mau Mau: Hard Blak
- Everyday People (2004) — Ali
- Dark Water (2005) — Platzer’s Backseat Client
- Side Effects (2013) — Wards Island Orderly
- Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) — Broadway Man on Street
- Good Time (2017) — Denny the Access-A-Ride Driver
- BlackKklansman (2018) — Film
- No Sudden Move (2021) — Jimmy
What People Ask
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