Ne-Yo and Friends Hoop It Up for Charity at Celebrity Basketball Game in LA

R&B singer/songwriter and actor Ne-Yo recently brought out some of his famous friends in Los Angeles for exciting five-on-five basketball, all in the name of charity.

Held at the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex in downtown LA, the inaugural celebrity basketball game benefited Ne-Yo’s Smith Family Foundation, which provides programs and other support to children in group homes and the foster care system, an issue that has been important to the singer for many years through his Compound Foundation organization and its Fostering A Legacy Gala.

The Smith Family Foundation, which is built around five pillars — acceptance, achievement, courage, fellowship and perseverance — aims to prepare children in the foster care system to live loving, healthy, well-balanced, productive and dignified lives.

“It’s not about big name celebrities, it’s about money raised for these kids,” said Ne-Yo, who runs the organization with his mom, Loraine Smith and wife Crystal Smith. “We deal very heavily in child care — kids in foster care, kids in group homes — the so called forgotten kids in society. We’re there to let them know that through the programs that we do, for once, someone gives a damn about you. We also want them to know that where you come from and where you end up don’t have anything to do with each other.”

The game featured two teams: the Celebrities, which included actor Flex Alexander, R&B singer Tank, Casper Smart, Laura Govan of “Basketball Wives”and Bre-Z from Fox’s “Empire”, and the Influencers, which featured those making an impact on our culture today, including actor/musician Don Benjamin, Instagram model Jena Frumes, Adam Waheed, Tammy Brawner, and Ericka Ringor.

Matt Barnes, of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors; former NBA player and Love & Hip-Hop Hollywood cast member Daniel “Boobie” Gibson, and actress AJ Johnson were also on hand for the game, which was won by the Influencers, who played hard over four periods to edge out the Celebrities for the victory.

Popular Los Angeles disc jockey DJ Damage keep the crowd engaged by spinning the hits throughout the game, which also featured halftime a performance by R&B singer Eric Bellinger.

Exclusive Human Nature photos and videos, including our exclusive interview with Ne-Yo, are below.

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