Social commentary at it's finest. Pain. Class war. Reality. Cold hard truth in under 2 minutes.
The man on stage was Arnold "Poet" Jackson. Prisoner #96J352. Convicted February 16, 1996 - Armed robbery, attempted murder, possession of a deadly weapon. Sentence: 16 years, eligible for parole in nine. A gangbanger with the gift of words. His slams to a (literally) captive audience were the moments that gave Oz it's heart and soul and they all came from the mind of the actor, muMs da Schemer aka Craig Grant, who was given free reign by Tom Montana, the show's creator, to write his own poetry. When people talk about Oz, they only ever mention it's brutality or it's profanity, but that's the stuff that's appeared in a 1000 shows since. Nothing like the scene above. Everything's all about shock and sensation now. Nothing makes you think anymore.
muMs died yesterday. He left behind some of the best TV moments ever created.
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