Over the past few months, I've written a lot about The Wire, including my thoughts on recent episodes and a comprehensive guide to Wire cast members' appearances in music videos over on my other blog, Narrowcast. And with the season finale fast approaching on December 10th, I thought I'd put together a guide to the ways in which the show has become intertwined with the Baltimore hip hop scene (aside from everyone making references to it in the lyrics, which maybe I'll do a rundown of another time).

Music Used in the Show:

As has been covered on this site and in the pages of the New York Times and The Baltimore City Paper, Wire music supervisor Blake Leyh has recently begun incorporating music from numerous Baltimore artists this season (in addition to Baltimore club tracks by DJ Technics in previous seasons), including Darkroom Productions (who came to The Wire's attention after naming their mixtape Hamsterdam, which was inspired by season 3), Diablo ("Jail Flick"), Mullyman ("Get Ready (Bodymore Soldiers)" and "The Life, The Hood, The Streetz"), Dirty Hartz ("That's Da Sound"), Tyree Colion ("My Projects"), Tha Plague a.k.a. GEM, Paula Campbell ("Love You Back") and Rod Lee ("Dance My Pain Away"). I've already posted several of these tracks as part of a continuing series as the episodes have aired:

as heard on The Wire, part 1
as heard on The Wire, part 2
as heard on The Wire, part 3

This season also featured a memorable scene in which hired killers Chris and Snoop sniff out New Yorkers dealing on Baltimore territory by quizzing them on their knowledge of Young Leek's single "Jiggle It" and 92Q's Big Phat Morning Show.

Cast Connections:

Michael K. Williams appeared on skits for Bossman's mixtapes Charm City's King and This Is A Warning in character as Omar.

Richard Burton, who played Shamrock, right hand man to Stringer Bell and Avon Barksdale, in the first 3 seasons, is the architect of the Believe Tour, which has featured Baltimore rappers such as Bossman, Tim Trees, Huli Shallone, Mullyman, D.O.G., Cooli Hi, Young Leek.

Teenage actor Nathan Corbett, who is featured on the 4th season as Donut, the kid that keeps stealing cars, is also a rapper signed to K-Swift’s Next Level label (the actor who plays Namond is also starting a career as a rapper, but I don't think he's from Baltimore or working with anyone from Bmore).

Cameos by Baltimore Artists:

Ammo, of the Gritty Gang and Real On Purpose Entertainment, appeared in several episodes in seasons 3 and 4 in a recurring role as Spider, one of the teenagers who boxes at Cutty's gym.

Skarr Akbar appeared in two episodes in season 2 with a speaking role as an unnamed rival dealer engaged in a turf war with Bodie and Poot.

In the second episode of season 3, “All Due Respect,” the guy who shoots Dozerman is played by Little Clayway.

Blankman of the group PX (Parts Unknown) appeared in the fourth episode of Season 4 as the security guard at the card game where Omar robs Marlo.

Rapper and Hip Hop 101 host Sonny Brown appears in two episodes in Season 4, once as one of the cops who runs into the cafeteria when Omar stabs someone in jail, and another where he helps break up the riot in front of a bar when the cops are making unnecessary arrests.

Labels: Darkroom Productions, Diablo, Dirty Hartz, DJ Technics, G.E.M./Tha Plague, lists, Mullyman, Paula Campbell, Rod Lee, Skarr Akbar, The Wire, Tyree Colion, Young Leek