Deuteragonist

Lamar Davis

Voiced by Slink Johnson

Alive17 missions

Lamar Davis turns up in 17 of the 77 story missions, first in Franklin and Lamar and last in The Third Way.

Not playable, but in enough of the story to carry long stretches of it.

Role: Deuteragonists
Voice actor: Slink Johnson
Status: Alive
Occupation: Not stated
Affiliations: The Families, Franklin Clinton, Denise Clinton, Tanisha Jackson, Trevor Philips, Gerald

Player notes

Lamar is Franklin Clinton's closest friend, a Families member from Chamberlain Hills who attended Davis High School with him and later joins him in crime. He works beside Franklin repossessing vehicles for Simeon Yetarian at Premium Deluxe Motorsport, while remaining tied to the gang life Franklin increasingly wants to leave behind. Lamar also deals drugs, keeps Chop as his dog and spends much of his time around Forum Drive, Strawberry.

He first appears with Franklin on Vespucci Beach, looking for two cars due for repossession. Michael De Santa unknowingly directs them to the address, where Lamar takes a 9F Cabrio and Franklin a Rapid GT. They race the cars back through Los Santos to Premium Deluxe Motorsport. Simeon later sends them after a Bagger in Vagos territory. Vagos gangsters attack them, and after the owner dies in the fighting, Lamar keeps the motorcycle rather than returning it.

Simeon fires Lamar and Franklin after the motorcycle incident and Franklin's destructive repossession for Michael. Lamar then spots an opportunity in D, a Ballas, and brings Franklin and Chop to abduct him. Chop tracks D down, but Lamar gives away their position and the pair release him. Lamar later leaves Chop with Franklin for the dog's safety. When Lamar and the newly freed Stretch take Franklin to meet D for a drug deal, D leads them into a Ballas ambush. Stretch kills D, and the three men fight their way out before escaping the police.

Lamar and Denise Clinton challenge Franklin when he returns to his old home, accusing him of abandoning the Families. Trevor Philips arrives and attaches himself to Lamar and Franklin's proposed drug deal. It too is a trap, and the three escape a gunfight and the LSPD through the Los Santos River on stolen jet skis. Franklin concludes that Stretch arranged the ambush to have Lamar killed. Lamar also learns that Franklin is stealing cars for Devin Weston, finds him at Hayes Autos, and discusses working with Trevor after Devin sends Franklin away.

Lamar steals a Monroe for Devin, then joins Franklin and Trevor in moving Devin's collection north of Paleto Bay. Police pursue the convoy, but the group delivers the cars. Devin withholds their money, saying it has been reinvested until police attention fades. Lamar later accepts another deal involving the Ballas, this time arranged with Stretch at the Paleto Forest Sawmill. The Ballas seize Lamar when the deal proves to be a setup.

Franklin calls Michael and Trevor to rescue Lamar from the sawmill. They kill the Ballas holding him, and Franklin drives Lamar home. Lamar and Franklin argue during the ride, but their friendship endures. Afterward, Lamar remains in Los Santos as Franklin's friend and contact, still connected to the Families and his old neighborhood.

When Devin Weston gives Franklin an ultimatum, Franklin chooses to unite Michael and Trevor rather than kill either man. Lamar answers Franklin's call for help. He goes with Franklin into Ballas territory to draw out Stretch, then helps fight through the gangsters. Franklin kills Stretch after confronting him, ending the threat that had repeatedly targeted Lamar. Lamar remains alive after the conflict, alongside Franklin and the allies who survive the plan.

Trivia

◆When in a car with a wanted level, he will simply stick the middle finger up at cops instead of shooting back, similar to what he does when he is not in a vehicle.
◆As revealed in IGN's hands-on preview of Grand Theft Auto V, Franklin did not own Chop before GTA V; Lamar did. It was previously believed that Chop was always Franklin's dog. After the fifth mission of the game (called "Chop"), Chop the dog moves to Franklin's house because of the troubles Lamar has gotten into. In some cutscenes, Lamar is seen with Chop even after he was moved to Franklin's house, indicating that Lamar still has free access to Chop. However, this is only seen before Franklin moves to Vinewood Hills.
◆In The Contract update for Grand Theft Auto Online, it is revealed that Franklin has become the permanent owner of Chop.
◆Lamar's favourite radio stations are West Coast Classics and Radio Los Santos.
◆Lamar is the only non-playable character not to be billed alphabetically in the ending credits.
◆Lamar does not hold resentment for the Ballas, as heard while hanging out with Franklin very early in the game. He then explains that so many members from both the Ballas and the Families have been killed over the years and says that each gang should "remain on their own turf", and nothing should go wrong. Ironically enough it was Lamar's idea of kidnapping D that lead to the continued hostility between the Families and the Ballas, even though the kidnapping had nothing to do with the extended Families.
◆Furthermore, he enlisted the GTA Online Protagonist's help to spark a war between the Ballas and the Vagos during the events of GTA Online: Lowriders, although these occur some time prior to the events of GTA V, so it is possible Lamar's views on the Ballas changed during the period between the two games.
◆Lamar is one of the few characters that makes a reference to one of the protagonists' Special Ability. During the car chase in the mission Chop, Lamar will say to Franklin to use that "special driving thing that he does". He also claims that Franklin "looks funny" while he does so, saying that Franklin makes a "sex face" while using the Special Ability.
◆In the mission Pack Man, he will reveal to Trevor that he met JB Bradshaw (Tonya's boyfriend) in a threesome, in which they accidentally "crossed swords". This is also mentioned by JB on Lamar's Lifeinvader page.
◆Lamar has many similar character traits to Sweet Johnson:
◆They have similar voices.
◆Both are loyal members of the Families gang (CGF for Lamar and GSF for Sweet).
◆Both never plan to move out of their respective neighborhoods.
◆Both constantly criticize and accuse their respective protagonists of selling out and leaving them and the neighborhood behind.
◆If the player enters the in-game website PsychicShoutout and speaks with Mrs. Marcy as Franklin, she will say that she sees Lamar in her visions, having sex on Franklin's bed. This is the possible hint that Lamar has a much closer relationship with Denise Clinton, due to his multiple positive comments about her appearance. Another reference on that matter is that during the mission Hood Safari, Lamar is seen going out of Franklin's house with her, both supporting each other.
◆During cutscenes, Lamar is noticeably taller than Franklin, but upon transitioning to gameplay, he appears to be slightly shorter than Franklin. The reason for this is unknown.
◆Lamar's height is often mentioned by the other characters, Franklin even shouts "Where the tall dude at?!" during the firefight in Lamar Down.
◆On West Coast Classics, DJ Pooh will occasionally do a shout-out to Lamar, making fun of his name and his gangbanger mentality, and tells him to "get his act together."
◆When hanging out with him, Lamar will not draw a weapon when the player does. However, he will punch any unarmed opponents. Also, he won't shoot any police officers when getting a wanted level, he will simply flip them off and taunt them with insults (e.g. "Eh, fuck you!", "Fuck you, you bitch-ass bitch!"). Oddly enough, if he is killed during a hangout session, he drops a pistol, so it's possible this is actually just a glitch that has yet to be fixed.
◆The only times Lamar appears outside of missions and friend activities is in Franklin's early SWITCH cutscenes before The Hotel Assassination mission, in which Lamar is fighting with either the LSPD or gang members.
◆Lamar has a set of unused clothing in the game's files: A red polo shirt with a white sweater undershirt, black shorts, black and white sneakers, a glove on his left hand, a black ProLaps cap (golf clothing, suggesting that he could play golf with Franklin and Trevor in the beta, but cannot in the final version), a green San Andreas Magnetics t-shirt, a white headband, a black motocross helmet that has "WEST SIDE" written on its back (suggesting that he originally wore a helmet while riding on a motorcycle), a grey baseball cap with a "B" on it, a green LS cap turned backwards and a pair of black glasses with orange shades.
◆In Director Mode, if the player chooses Lamar as an actor and travels to Families hang out spots, members of the gang will interact with Lamar and he can interact with them back (when pressing the interact button).
◆Although Lamar cannot hang out with Michael, he can hang out with both Franklin and Trevor at the same time. Lamar is the only non-playable character that can be part of a hang out trio. This is likely due to the fact that he cannot be spooked by a shoot-out which is what a high number of players like to do when they are hanging out with main other protagonists.
◆If Trevor sends a photo of an animal he just hunted to Lamar, Lamar will reply by telling Trevor that he "only smokes homies with two legs!".
◆Choosing to kill Michael or Trevor permanently shifts the relationship between Franklin and Lamar. Lamar becomes wary and distrustful, viewing Franklin as a "cold" and "snakey" sell-out rather than a fellow gangster. Ultimately, Lamar acts as a mirror for the player's betrayal, highlighting the deep personal cost of Franklin's choice.
◆If the GTA Online Protagonist is male, Lamar will mention that the player is shorter than he thought. If the player is female, he will attempt to hit on her but will be rejected.
◆In the GTA Online introduction, if the player selects the Fugitive as starting car, Lamar Davis mentions he used to own a Cheval Fugitive. He will start talking how it's a good drive-by car but won't finish his sentence and simply claim it's a good car.
◆During Mall Or Nothing, Lamar's "player" rank will be 99.
◆The player can buy a watch identical to Lamar's, called the Deep Sea Watch.
◆Lamar's playable appearances in the Short Trip missions and the Double Down Adversary Modes in The Contract update make him the first deuteragonist in the series to play the role of a protagonist (even if only for a short time) in another game.
◆When playing as Lamar, the background of his interaction menu features marijuana leaves similar to those of Franklin, albeit larger.