Legendary emcee Method Man continues to build his IMDB with his latest role on Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s drama series “Power Book II: Ghost,” however, according to its lead actors, the role of the win-by-any means lawyer Davis MacLean almost went to fellow rapper-turned-actor Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., better known as T.I.
The topic surfaced recently after the show’s stars Michael Rainey Jr. and Gianni Paolo, who play Tariq St. Patrick and his best friend Brayden Weston, were stopped by a TMZ reporter inquiring about the show’s several guest cameos.
“Has there [been] anyone who was supposed to guest star but 50 had a beef with them and like it just didn’t happen?”
They pondered for a minute before Paolo answered, “I heard — now this is a rumor, I can’t confirm — I heard T.I. was supposed to play Method Man’s character.” Rainey Jr. later joined, seemingly having heard the same chatter too. Paolo continued, “Then I don’t know if there was a beef or something happened, but then he never wound up playing, and then Method was Davis MacLean.”
Rainey Jr. revealed the decision was made earlier in the production journey “before we started filming.” They told the reporter they’re unsure exactly what triggered the switch, but Paolo believes a feud may be to blame, noting that “we showed up to set and then Method was there, so that was really it.”
The move appeared to sit well with at least the Wu-Tang Clan member’s cast mates, who both agreed the New York rapper was the better choice. “No shot,” Paolo declared. “Ain’t nobody better than Method Man.”
Fif and T.I. have a relatively long history together. Aside from calling him out with various posts on social media, Fif’s qualms with Atlanta-based rapper stem from his constant “Verzuz” battle request and comments the trap music pioneer made about East Coast rappers who still bring up his infamous Crime Stoppers commercial, including Fif.
In 2007, T.I. agreed to do the ad that urged the community to help fight crime after he was arrested on gun charges and was facing up to 20 years in prison.
Fiddy took issue with Tip’s comments in the since-deleted post and wrote, “This was a week ago. This n-gga was just telling me about a comedy show he was working on backstage. I don’t like this kinda sh-t, it wouldn’t be a good idea to come around me again. Respectfully stay away from me.”
