Fredro Starr pretty much just has to show up to play his new role on the UPN sitcom ``Moesha.''
He plays Q (that's right, Q), Moesha's new love interest, a street-wise rapper from New York. In real life, Starr is a member of the hard-core rap group Onyx.
``That's my life . . . a city kid who raps,'' says Starr, 22.
Thanks to the success of Onyx, Starr has developed a gangsta persona that may seem a bit edgy for the wholesome family show. But Starr is not too worried about it.
``I am walking a thin line,'' he concedes. ``At first, my producers said my image was too tough, but it could get over. They wanted a hard-core image for the show.''
In fact, it was partly his image that helped him land the job. The show's star, Brandy, put Starr's name in the hat, and producers were quick to follow up.
Starr - who changed his name from Fredro Scruggs - started acting at 17. He walked into an open casting call and came out with a lead role in Forest Whit-aker's cable film, ``Strapped.'' That led to street-kid roles in Spike Lee's ``Clockers'' and Abel Ferrara's ``The Addiction.'' This summer, he starred in ``Sunset Park'' as a basketball player coached by Rhea Perlman.
``That was the toughest . . . I had to get all emotional,'' he says. ``I had to cry and stuff.''
Ultimately, Starr hopes his career choices will take him to big-time Hollywood blockbusters.
``I look at Will Smith and me as kind of on the same track,'' he says.
