Cynthia Erivo has joined the cast of Snoop, Universal Pictures’ biopic of Snoop Dogg, in the role of Afeni Shakur, the Black Panther activist and mother of Tupac Shakur. The Hollywood Reporter first reported the casting, and Universal confirmed the news on Wednesday, November 4.
Erivo, a Tony, Grammy and Emmy winner and three-time Oscar nominee for Wicked, joins a cast led by Jonathan Daviss of Outer Banks as Snoop Dogg. Camron Jones plays Tupac Shakur opposite Erivo’s Afeni, while Lauren London plays Snoop’s late mother, Beverly Tate.
A Star-Studded Hip-Hop Ensemble
The ensemble also includes Myles Bullock as Dr. Dre, Algee Smith as Warren G, Tre Hale as Suge Knight, Laya DeLeon Hayes as Snoop’s wife Shante Broadus, Olly Sholotan as Kurupt, Corey Champagne as Nate Dogg, Jonica Booth as The Lady of Rage, and SwayvoTwain as The Notorious B.I.G.
Craig Brewer, the director of Hustle & Flow and Song Sung Blue, is directing from his own rewrite of an original script by Joe Robert Cole, who co-wrote Black Panther and Wakanda Forever. The film is currently in production in Southern California, and Snoop Dogg is a producer alongside Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer and Allan Mandelbaum and Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker.
A Story With Real History
Afeni Shakur was born Alice Faye Williams in North Carolina in 1947 and moved to the Bronx with her mother at age 11. She became a prominent Black Panther activist before her son Tupac became one of hip-hop’s most enduring artists. Her story brings a political history of its own into the film.
Snoop is the first release under Death Row Pictures’ overall deal with NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios, and it will draw on music from Snoop Dogg’s own catalog. The film is scheduled to arrive in theaters on August 6, 2027.
