‘BMF’: Fans Don’t Believe Lamar Is Actually Dead
Starz’s drama series, BMF Season 2, is finally set to debut. The series follows the real-life journey of the Flenory brothers. Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory (Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr.) and Terry “Southwest Tee” Flenory (Da’Vinchi) began selling drugs as teens on the streets of Detroit before forming their own national drug enterprise. Wealth and dominance breed jealousy and one of their biggest rivalries in Season 1 was a gangster named Lamar (Eric Kofi-Abrefa).
At the end of Season 1, Lamar was shot, but fans don’t believe he’s actually dead.
Lamar’s presence on ‘BMF’ proves the series is more than just a drug show
As much as BMF is about Meech and Terry forming their drug organization, creator Randy Huggins and his writer’s room were careful to build out the world around the brothers. Lamar, in particular, is a very complex character.
“It’s not just a drug show,” Huggins told TVLine. “We delve into mental illness with Lamar. Back in the 1980s, when [President] Reagan closed all those state-run mental health facilities, people like Lamar were released with nowhere else to go. He may have gone in the asylum thinking it was easier than prison, but he was probably already mentally ill and got worse.”
Fans don’t believe Lamar is actually dead on ‘BMF’
At the end of Season 1, Meech shot Lamar. However, fans aren’t convinced the character is actually dead. After all, the character is based on real-life gangster Layton Simon, who is actually still alive today.
When questioned about his possible return to the series, Kofi-Abrefa was coy. “That’s a difficult question because it’s based on true events. I guess that can take me as far as the events,” he told Express U.K. “But in terms of where Lamar can go. Lamar can go anywhere because he doesn’t really have a filter. Neither does he have a limit to what he wants to go and do. He can go anywhere, and that’s what’s exciting about being able to play him.”
Fans will see if Lamar returns when the show debuts its second season.
Eric Kofi-Abrefa shared the advice that Big Meech gave him about playing Lamar
When it came to portraying Lamar, based on the man that terrorized Big Meech and his crew back in the late ’80s, the gangster gave the actor some serious advice about the role. “Funnily enough, he actually had a lot of respect for them,” Kofi-Abrefa told Express U.K. “He told me, he said, ‘You’ve gotta put your best gangster foot forward if you’re playing this guy.”
The British actor went on to explain that though he played a violent role that explored mental illness, he always felt safe and cared for on-screen.
“50 is a generous director who wanted to make sure everybody felt good about what they were doing,” Kofi-Abrefa told TV Line. “I never felt like I was in harm’s way or didn’t understand where the character was going. Just hanging with Lil Meech, who 50 Cent recruited for the show, was enlightening. His dad would call in sometimes and talk to me about the history and context of his life and family. He told me about the man my character is based on and gave me all kinds of details that I was able to throw in a pot, mix up, and add to my performance.”
