The Snoop Dogg Biopic Lands Cynthia Erivo as Tupac’s Mother, Afeni Shakur

Craig Brewer’s ‘Snoop’ surrounds Jonathan Daviss with Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, Nate Dogg and more.

Summary

Cynthia Erivo joins Snoop, Universal’s Snoop Dogg biopic, as Afeni Shakur, the Black Panther activist and mother of Tupac Shakur

Jonathan Daviss plays Snoop Dogg, with Camron Jones as Tupac and Lauren London as Snoop’s late mother, Beverly Tate

Craig Brewer directs from his rewrite of Joe Robert Cole’s script, and Snoop Dogg produces with music from his own catalog

Cynthia Erivo has joined Snoop, Universal’s biopic of Snoop Dogg, in the role of Afeni Shakur, Tupac Shakur’s mother. The Tony, Grammy and Emmy winner adds another big name to a cast led by Jonathan Daviss, whose film is pitched as the definitive screen account of the rapper and entertainment mogul.

Erivo’s character brings a political history of her own into the story. Afeni Shakur was born Alice Faye Williams in North Carolina in 1947 and moved to the Bronx with her mother at age 11. She joined the Black Panther Party after hearing Bobby Seale speak in 1968, became one of its prominent members, and married fellow Panther Lumumba Shakur soon after.

Snoop’s family circle is cast around Daviss in the lead. Lauren London plays Beverly Tate, Snoop’s late mother, and Laya DeLeon Hayes plays his wife, Shante Broadus. Together, those three roles set up the personal side of the story.

The music side of Snoop’s world gets an equally deep bench. Camron Jones plays Tupac Shakur opposite Erivo’s Afeni, Myles Bullock Be plays Dr. Dre, Algee Smith plays Warren G and Tre Hale takes on Suge Knight. Olly Sholotan, Corey Champagne and Jonica Booth complete the group as Kurupt, Nate Dogg and The Lady of Rage.

Behind the camera, the film brings together a mix of music-biopic and franchise credits. Craig Brewer, the director of Hustle and 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. Snoop Dogg produces alongside Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer (8 Mile), Allan Mandelbaum and Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker, and the soundtrack draws on Snoop’s own catalog. The film is also the first release under Death Row Pictures’ overall deal with NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios, with senior VP of production development Ryan Jones and director of development Tony Ducret overseeing it for the studio.

Snoop hits theaters on August 6 via Universal.