‘Power Book II: Ghost’: 50 Cent Replaced T.I. With Method Man Because of Beef, According to Cast
Rapper 50 Cent has served as an executive producer on the Starz series Power Book II: Ghost since its premiere in 2020. Fellow rapper Method Man stars in the show as criminal defense attorney Davis MacLean. The casting of Method Man in the role was reportedly a deliberate choice on 50 Cent’s part.
Method Man stars in ‘Power Book II: Ghost’
Method Man’s character Davis MacLean serves as an attorney for main character Tariq St. Patrick, played by Michael Rainey Jr. in the series.
For most of his career, Method Man was known for his work with the Wu-Tang Clan in the 1990s as well as his own music career. In the years since, he’s honed his acting skills and transitioned from the stage to the screen.
He spoke about his newfound career in a 2021 interview with Essence.
“The higher-ups, the so-called gatekeepers didn’t have much use for a 44-year-old rapper,” he said. “I guess my background turned some people off. Some people aren’t willing to give you a chance, especially when you’ve already had one and you kind of squandered it.”
“There was a changing of the guard in hip-hop. I was cool with that,” he continued. “I had to evolve with the business and if that meant acting, so be it. I was going to throw all my eggs in one basket.”
50 Cent allegedly chose Method Man over T.I. for the role
In an August 2022 interview with TMZ, Power Book II: Ghost stars Michael Rainey Jr. and Gianni Paolo spoke about working on the show, 50 Cent’s involvement, and more. According to Paolo, he’d heard through the grapevine that rapper T.I. was up for the role of Davis MacLean before it eventually went to Method Man.
“This is a rumor, I can’t confirm,” Paolo said. “I heard T.I. was supposed to play Method Man’s character. I don’t know if there was beef or something happened, but then he never wound up playing him, and Meth was Davis MacLean.”
Rainey confirmed the rumor and the fact that it allegedly happened “early in the production before we started filming.” “We showed up to set, and Method was there,” he remembered. “They didn’t tell us.”
Rainey also explained that 50 Cent wouldn’t allow beef in the filming environment. “If there was to even be a beef on set, 50 would come to set and that s*** would be squashed,” he said.
50 Cent and T.I.’s beef
In 2021, T.I. challenged 50 Cent to a Verzuz battle several times, but 50 wasn’t interested. In response to T.I.’s challenge, 50 shared a clip on his Instagram of T.I.’s interview with the Big Facts podcast in September 2021 where he spoke about rappers like 50 doing Crime Stoppers commercial.
“This was a week ago. This n**** was just telling me about a comedy show he was working on backstage,” 50 said in a since-deleted Instagram post. “I don’t like this kinda s***. It wouldn’t be a good idea to come around me again. Respectfully stay away from me.”
