It appears if the worst for Felicia “Snoop” Pearson is behind her. On Tuesday, the young lady who created a cult classic character as “Snoop” from HBO’s The Wire pleaded guilty to heroin charges stemming from a drug raid this past March. Read the rest of this entry »

The Wire’s long gone from the Sunday TV lineup but definitely not, it’s memory kept alive by…the writers for iCarly, Read the rest of this entry »

If you had asked me where they were at prior to “The Wire,” I definitely would say Law & Order because I’ve seen enough reruns to know each and every character, minus Stringer and Avon, was either a DT, a witness or purported criminal in the long-running TV series. But post-”Wire,” I couldn’t say because my relationship with the boob tube has been minimized drastically since HBO pulled the plug on . Thankfully, our friends @ Vulture did investigating to see which TV show has the most “Wire” characters now. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been making my way through The Wire one Netflix disc at a time over the last few weeks.  I’m stunned at how much I’ve forgotten, as this is my first revisit to the streets of Baltimore since my initial run through years ago. While everyone remembers Clay Davis or Stringer’s final demise, the series bursts with moments of greatness. The basketball game between Eastside and Westside. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington Post:

“More than 30 people, including the actress known as “Snoop” from the Baltimore-based HBO series “The Wire,” were arrested Thursday morning across the city and its surrounding counties in connection with a large-scale heroin and marijuana operation. Read the rest of this entry »

Sure, we could have included Isiah Whitlock Jr’s government name in the title, but it wouldn’t have resonated as heavily. Fact is the man will forever be Clay Davis, the notoriously crooked politician from HBO’s The Wire, and “sheeeeeiit” will be the first thing that rolls off the tongue when he’s mentioned. Our brother Vince from FilmDrunk spoke with Isiah Whitlock on the enduring legacy of his most famous catchphrase and the three minute short clip is probably the best thing you’ll find on the web today. Read the rest of this entry »

Since there’s submissions all the time, often with the question “how can we get featured,” here’s a surefire way to catch almost any TSS Crew member’s attention. Relate your offering to The Wire. I can almost promise that everyone will take heed. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve never seen The Wire.

*Ducks*

Yes, it’s true. Someone affiliated with TSS cannot commentate on what is considered perhaps the most Major show by damn near every demographic who frequents this site. And here I am, watching edited reruns of The Sopranos on A&E. Fuggetaboutthat. Read the rest of this entry »

There are two sides to every story and then there is the truth. The real-life tale of Avon “Bodie” Barksdale, former drug kingpin of Baltimore, was interloped into HBO’s acclaimed series The Wire by ex-journalist and author David Simon. Ed Burns, the show’s co-producer and Simon’s creative partner, drew from his own experiences as a detective to illustrate Barksdale from the law enforcement perspective. Now that the television-writing duo have told their sides, only the truth remains and who better to recall it than Mr. Barksdale himself? As well-crafted and gripping as The Wire was, the real Avon doesn’t feel as if the show did him justice. So he’s setting the record straight with The Avon Barksdale Story: Legends Of The Unwired, to be released March 10th on DVD and distributed by E1 Music. Wood Harris, the actor who portrayed Barksdale on The Wire, narrates this intense, straight-no-chaser documentary.

It’s only fitting that a fellow certified O.G. participate in Barksdale’s film endeavor. Chaz Williams – of Black Hand Entertainment and BET American Gangster fame – is Avon’s good friend, business consultant and associate producer for Legends Of The Unwired. So when I met with Avon “Bodie” Barksdale for a Q&A session, Williams sat vigilantly in the background, spiking the convo with his commentary. Soak up some game.

TSS: Why are you putting this DVD out?

Avon Barksdale: There are two or three reasons why I’m putting this out, but the main reason is I wanted my story to be told by me. I wanted you and everybody else that buys this to get it straight from me. I can add some clarity to it.

TSS: Did you feel that The Wire did you justice with its portrayal?

Barksdale: No, I don’t.

TSS: Then why did you get Wood Harris (who portrayed Barksdale on The Wire) to narrate the movie?

Barksdale: Because I agreed with Wood Harris and the way he portrayed me. I agreed with him being chosen as the actor to represent me. And he done a pretty good job, especially with him not being a guy that’s from my neighborhood. Even down to the vernacular, he spoke like us and everything.

TSS: They took what they perceive as your story and put it on TV. Do you feel as if that’s a form of snitchin’ on their part?

Barksdale: I wasn’t worried about that because of the way that they approached me. I wasn’t worried about people perceiving it as snitching because for one, I didn’t give them any information. Nobody came to me and did what you’re doing now, interviewing me. David Simon worked for a local newspaper called the Baltimore Sun and he was a court reporter. Not once did he ever come and interview me like you’re doing. I give props to journalists who do what you’re doing and actually do journalism. The way that they did it, they told me, “We’re gonna do this anyway, with or without you.”

TSS: They have the right to do that?

Barksdale: Well, I didn’t think they did, but it takes a lot to fight that type of… that’s literally fighting Hollywood and everything that comes with it. I was just out of the joint. I was actually still in the joint when they first approached me. But the way they approached me; they approached me and told me, “Look, this is a matter of public record.” Right? One guy, Ed Burns, he wasn’t the arresting officer but he is the investigating officer. He’s at the top and he sent the other ones to arrest me. You’re really gonna have to buy (the DVD) so that you can understand more because that would be an hour, explaining all of that to you. Nah, I didn’t feel like the really did me any justice. I felt like Wood done the role justice because he’s a good actor. He’s the shit, y’know? We kind of favor. I felt like he done well and that’s why when I got ready to do mine, I chose Wood actually. There was another guy I could’ve chose.

TSS: How have the streets of Baltimore changed from the time you were out there doing your thing until now? Read the rest of this entry »

The Avon Barksdale Story Trailer

Just in time for my annual Wire winter marathon, comes an in-depth look of an intricate layer that made HBO’s masterpiece the greatest reality TV show ever. One of The Wire’s greatest phenomenons was its ability to allow viewers to sympathize or even justify the series of immoral practices displayed by the street players. (Avon Barksdale’s ordering of killing witnesses after a successful trial comes to mind.) This looks to be the complete opposite with The Avon Barksdale Story, which aligns the real Avon/Bodie with Vlad the Impaler as they document some of his own heinous acts with some of Wire creator David Simon’s news clippings as fuel.

The Avon Barksdale Story will be available on WSHH DVD March 10th, 2010.

Rapper Big Pooh – The Purple Tape Documentary

Every the diligent lil’ bro, Rapper Big Pooh is back for what could be one of the most creative projects of the month (if not year). Combining his mojo flow with Black Milk’s beats and mixing power of DJ Jaycee, amounts to one potent Purple Tape. Let’s just hope the midget from Minnesota doesn’t get wind of this as he’s known to throw a hissy fit if you so much as sing his songs in the shower.

Here’s the first drop of purple rain.

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Download — Rapper Big Pooh – “When I’m Done” (Produced By Black Milk)

4-Ize – “Classic Example” Trailer

Equally as important as having a dope track is the engaging visuals to match. This looks to be no problem for 4-Ize, the Atlanta rapper with the endless rhyme book. From what I hear, there’s plenty of torture motherfucker © Wu-Tang with enough chainsaws, knives and axes to give Leatherface a heart attack. The cut also features Señor Kaos and Punchlyne from the mixtape Illuminated Animals, which is available now.

Download — 4-Ize – Illuminated Animals

Aaron LaCrate does everything. If you’re not familiar, try Googling him. The short end is that he’s a DJ, an entrepreneur and founder of Milkcrate Athletics. He’s also a native of East Baltimore. So when HBO decided they needed fresh shirts made to acknowledge The Crew’s favorite show, who better to commission than LaCrate to lay the designs down? And when LaCrate wanted to give a few away, who better to contact than us? And who better for us to share them with than you? Read the rest of this entry »

Of course the first 100 great quotes from “The Wire” weren’t enough. Not when you had a show that was 60 episodes of greatness.

Props to the people @ Pajiba for compiling both this and the previous clip.

Nat King Cole’s sugar-swirled songs echo through Walmart walkways lined with stockings and ornaments.  Price-drops of epic proportions are slated for a Friday after Thanksgiving that is sure to leave at least one Midwesterner trampled to death. It’s with these staples the holiday season descends upon us and I turn once again to the annual duty of procuring a Christmas wish list from which my grandparents will glean inspiration. But this year is much, much different from the last… sigh… for I received “The Wire” box set on Christmas last year.

What more does one really need? What more is left?!? Read the rest of this entry »

Videogum FTW, simply by asking “Where Wallace At, String?” I’m a sucker for anything related to The Wire. I always get emails from artists, promotions, marketing etc. asking how they can get their stuff featured on TSS. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s Tuesday, which is my longest day of the work week. I’m tired but still got enough left in the tank to pass along this video from Detroit’s Finale, who I already know the majority of the innernuts slept on. Hopefully, with this song & video based on & inspired by The Wire, all you Silas Marner narcoleptics will be nudged into giving cat a try. Read the rest of this entry »