Ne-Yo Wasn’t Too Fond Of Wearing A “Lace Front” Wig For New Role In ‘BMF’

In the all new season of BMF, viewers will be introduced to ton of new characters mostly from the Hip-Hop space.

The hit Starz series has already boasted artists including Kash Doll (Monique), Snoop Dogg (Pastor Swift), Yung Miami (Deanna), Lil Zane (Sockie) and the show’s stars: Da’Vinchi (Southwest T) and Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory (Big Meech). For season three, fans will get to to witness the onscreen talents of Lil Baby (Payne), Saweetie (Keeya), 2 Chainz (Stacks), and Ne-Yo, who plays a local Atlanta drug dealer named Greeny.

Ahead of BMF‘s season three premiere, Ne-Yo spoke with VIBE about his new role on the 50 Cent-produced show, and the new hairpiece that he’s sporting the entire season. The “So Sick” crooner is known for his bald head (which he usually covers with stylish hats), but for his newest acting gig, he wears a lace front wig.

“I’m not a fan of the lace front, you know what I’m saying?” he said when asked about his character’s appearance. “I wanted people to see somebody other than Ne-Yo, so we made it work. I was down with it, but once they put it on, I’m like, ‘Yeah, this is not something that I would ever really get into.’”

For the three-time Grammy winner, joining the BMF cast has been “smooth sailing,” but taking on the role of a drug dealer was indeed a “challenge” in comparison to the lighter roles he’s had.

Ne-Yo, né Shaffer Chimere Smith, has already helmed a few films and small screen roles including the BET+ TV movie Hip-Hop Family Christmas, Hip-Hop Family Christmas Wedding, The Sound of Christmas, Girls Trip, The Wiz Live!, Empire, The Mindy Project, Red Tails, Stomp The Yard, Save The Last Dance 2, Step Up: High Water, and more.

“Shout-out to everybody over there for embracing me the way that they did it,” he spoke of the BMF’s welcoming atmosphere. “I walked in and it was smooth sailing pretty much the whole time I was there. That just made it that much easier for me to really delve into the character and give it my best. They embraced me like I had been there for the previous two seasons.”

Despite his growing filmography, Ne-Yo admitted that he still feels like a newbie to the big screen.

“The acting thing is still fairly new to me,” he said. “I’ve done a couple things here and there, but the thing that made me really want to do this was the challenge of it. I ain’t never played a role like this before, so I wanted to test myself to see how convincing I could be as somebody that I ain’t really got nothing in common with. It’s definitely a bit of a stretch for me as far as who Greeny is.”

He continued, “I feel like the best actors are the ones who, once they get into character, you see the character and don’t see them anymore. I can only hope that that’s what I brought to this situation, but I guess we’ll let the critics let it be known if I did that.”

Season 3 of BMF will premiere tonight (March 1) on Starz at 8 PM ET and will also be available at midnight on the Starz app. Check out Ne-Yo speaking on his new look below and the new season’s trailer here.