Following the Season 2 premiere of 50 Cent’s Power Book II: Ghost, series star Method Man has said the project was “written exclusively” with Mary J. Blige in mind.
In an interview with Metro, the Wu-Tang Clan rapper and actor suggested he was very impressed by Blige’s performance as drug lord Monet Stewart Tejada, the head of the Tejada cartel. “Mary brought a big audience with her, they knew what they was doing. Plus, Mary was a fan of this show and I think this show was written exclusively for her, especially with the Monet character which I think she is brilliant at,” he explained.
Blige is obviously best known for her music career, but she garnered an Academy Award nomination for her standout performance in the 2017 film MudBound, and also had a memorable turn on Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy.
“I love seeing Mary outside of her comfort zone as far as being onstage and singing and all that,” added Meth. “She’s been getting her feet wet in this acting game and there’s only room for improvement and she has all my support.”
![Method Man and Pete Davidson on 'SNL'](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 203 115"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Blige has already garnered a heap of praise for her role on the series, picking up an Outstanding Supporting Actress award at the 2021 NAACP Image Awards for her turn in the first season.
“Mary’s not regular at all, she’s more real. This is our royalty regardless of how anyone else feels about her, Mary is our royalty and we’re not going to let anyone tarnish this brand,” said Method Man. “She’s bringing it this season—I just wish she’d hug her kids [laughs] but in the business she’s in, she can’t be soft at all, it’s got to be tough love all around the board and she’s killing it.”
As for his own character, Method Man said the “very calculated” Davis Maclean will continue to play “chess while everyone else is playing checkers.”