David Lami Friebe, known to many as just Lami, may be best known today for his recurring role as Trey, the charming delivery man on Tyler Perry’s hit BET series “Sistas,” but his creative roots run far deeper than television.
A gifted actor, musician, and storyteller, Friebe’s artistic journey spans continents, cultures, and mediums — from jazz-infused church services to voice acting in genocide memorials to the sun-soaked sidewalks of Venice Beach, where he beat his dream-laced drums and tested his voice with strangers.
Born in Portland, Oregon, Friebe spent his earliest years crisscrossing Europe with his parents—George Makinto, his Liberian-German jazz musician father, and Mukarabe Makinto-Inandava, his Burundian mother—both of whom later became ministers. His upbringing was steeped in music, memory, and movement. “I’ve been blessed to have different talents,” Lami says. “I come from a family of multi-instrumental, multi-talented people and storytellers, so I just do whatever I’m inspired by in the moment.”
That creative spirit showed early. In 2011, Lami’s mother, a Rwandan genocide survivor, was invited to voice a role in the short biography “Bosco’s Guitar,” the true story of a young Burundian musician orphaned and blinded during the 1993 genocide. She brought her sons along to the studio, where Lami and his younger brother, Paul Friebe-Makinto, lent their voices to the project.
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“I still get 30-cent residuals from it every year,” he laughs, while adding how the story and family experience “was really impactful.”
Years later, Lami wrote and co-directed “Son of Oakland,” a tribute film honoring the late Victor McElhaney—a gifted artist and activist who was tragically killed in 2019—with his now-wife, Nia Friebe, serving as producer.
“He was multitalented, outspoken—an advocate for his city,” Lami wrote in a heartfelt Instagram tribute. The film, delayed by the pandemic, eventually premiered on YouTube on McElhaney’s birthday.
Friebe has built momentum in acting, booking commercials—most memorably a Vitamin Water spot with Lil Nas X—and landing television roles. But it was his two-episode appearance as Evan, a football player on The CW’s “All American,” that marked a turning point.
“I waited until I was standing on set to say, ‘alright, I got this,’” he recalls, explaining how landing the role was tough, but a major accomplishment that helped solidify his mark in Hollywood.
One of Lami’s favorite parts of acting is the psychological exploration it allows. “I know I’m really different,” he says. “So how are other people really different? That’s the question I ask when approaching a character—what’s their world, what shaped them?”
Standing at 6’3” with a commanding presence, Friebe is often mistaken for an athlete.
“All the athletics I do are fake—just for film,” he jokes. Still, that image has worked in his favor. Agents and casting directors often look for versatility, and Friebe delivers: multi-instrumentalist, former athlete, trained actor, and on-camera presence.
“They ask what skills you have, and I have a long list,” he says with a grin, knowing it makes the agent’s job a lot easier.
When asked what advice he would offer to emerging actors and filmmakers, Lami emphasizes the importance of perspective and patience.
“Just try to really understand where the industry is at right now, so you have certain expectations for what it is,” he says.
“I think it allows you to release some pressure and just dive fully into just being as great as you can with whatever it is, writing or acting.”
For Lami, excellence comes first. “Be undeniably great at what you’re doing and put in the work.”
