Felicia Pearson was born to play her eponymous character “Snoop” on HBO’s The Wire. Discovered by actor Michael K. Williams (b.k.a. Omar Little) in a Baltimore club, the street-certified Pearson had no buffer zone between putting in work for her set and putting in work on the set. But cast as drug lord Marlo’s loyal assassin, Pearson and her riveting performances are forever seared in the memories of Wire aficionados.
Her tough life, five years of which were spent doing a bid for second-degree murder, provides a background story many rappers would sell their souls for. Instead of glorifying her checkered past, Felicia has transitioned into more positive things. She volunteers as a prison-visitor, works anti-violence and literary campaigns and runs a youth drama organization with Wire alumni Jamie Hector. Pearson is also an author, penning her biography Grace After Midnight. The inspirational book, which held down the #1 spot at the Essence Magazine Book Club, is in the midst of being reprinted. Felicia Pearson is also a rapper which immediately brings to question if there’s room in the Hip-Hop game for another Snoop?. The baby-faced actress thinks so, recruiting R&B singer Lil’ Mo for the single “Lovely” on her forthcoming yet-to-be-titled album. In addition, Pearson has the lead role in a new film helmed by Ed Burns and David Simon, the salient writing duo that produced The Wire.
The Crew’s Khalid Strickland hooked up with the laid-back Felicia “Snoop” Pearson to discuss Grace After Midnight, her pearls of hood wisdom and the line between reality and fiction on The Wire.
TSS: Congratulations on the success of your book.
Felicia: Thank you.
TSS: Explain the title Grace After Midnight. What’s the science behind that?
Felicia: Grace is my accomplishments now and midnight is my past history… just coming through the struggle, you know? And I just came up with Grace After Midnight.
TSS: What are your goals with this book?
Felicia: Just so people can understand me and my history and where I came from. Hopefully everything that I say, some of it will touch somebody and change somebody’s mind about something. It’s a lot of things out there that kids and adults go through that they can relate to in the book. They read it and hopefully see that I overcame a lot of things and hopefully they think they can do the same thing. That’s all.
TSS: Back when you were in the streets heavy did you have aspirations of being an author or actor? Or did you just go where destiny took you?
Felicia: I just went where my destiny took me.
TSS: What do you say to hood folk who can’t picture life beyond the block, as if that’s all they’ll ever have?
Felicia: Don’t think that at all because there’s a lot out here in this world. There’s a whole world out here. Like around my way, I used to think about that myself. Like, “This is all I’ma accomplish… just huggin’ the block” and this, that and the third. And God said, “Nah, there’s another way out and I’ma show you.” So just keep the faith and if you can dribble a basketball up and down the court or run a football… soccer, anything… just keep on praying on your dream and it will come true.
TSS: Many Wire fans will see Grace After Midnight and say, “Yeah, it’s a continuation of The Wire. It’s gonna be some straight gangsta, drug shit.” Is that what the book is about or should they curb their expectations a bit? Read the rest of this entry »
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