Erivo cast as Afeni Shakur in Universal's Snoop Dogg biopic
Seven Lights
Cynthia Erivo will play Afeni Shakur, the mother of the rapper Tupac Shakur, in “Snoop,” Universal Pictures’ biopic of Snoop Dogg, The Hollywood Reporter said, as relayed by The Playlist. “Outer Banks” star Jonathan Daviss portrays the title role, and “Panic” actor Camron Jones plays Tupac.
Craig Brewer directs. Brewer, who recently directed the music biopic “Song Sung Blue,” reportedly wrote the latest draft of the screenplay, taking over from Joe Robert Cole, the original writer. Variety reported the project is described as the “definitive biopic of the entertainment mogul and icon.” Snoop Dogg himself and Sara Ramaker, president of Death Row Pictures, are among the producers. The film will include music from the rapper’s catalog; details of the storyline, including how much of his career it will cover, have not been released.
The casting places two of the era’s defining figures side by side. The two were label mates at Death Row Records in the 1990s. They recorded together, among them “2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted” and “Wanted Dead Or Alive.” Tupac was killed in 1996 at the age of 25; Snoop went on to a career spanning music, film and business.
Afeni Shakur, who died in 2016, was a founding member of the Black Panther Party, and her activism shaped her son’s work. “My mother taught me to analyze society and not be quiet if there’s something on my mind speak it, because my mother was a Black Panther, and she was really involved in the movement,” a teenage Tupac said in an interview. The clip appeared in the 2023 docuseries “Dear Mama,” named for his 1995 song about her and the family’s poverty.
For Ms. Erivo, the role follows her farewell to the role of Elphaba in the “Wicked” films, as AV Club put it, “bidding farewell to Oz and rolling up to California.” No release date was announced. Shooting arrangements were not disclosed.