Cynthia Erivo has joined Universal's Snoop Dogg biopic as Afeni Shakur, Tupac Shakur's mother. Variety reported that she joins Jonathan Daviss, who plays Snoop Dogg, in Snoop, directed by Craig Brewer.
Cast portrays family and music collaborators
Camron Jones plays Tupac, while Lauren London portrays Snoop's mother Beverly Tate. Laya DeLeon Hayes plays his wife Shante Broadus, Algee Smith portrays Warren G and Tre Hale appears as Suge Knight.
Olly Sholotan, Corey Champagne and Jonica Booth play Kurupt, Nate Dogg and The Lady of Rage respectively. The ensemble represents relatives and collaborators around the central musician.
Afeni Shakur was a prominent Black Panther Party member. Born Alice Faye Williams in North Carolina in 1947, she moved to the Bronx with her mother at 11 and joined the organisation after hearing Bobby Seale speak in 1968.
Music catalogue and biographical production
Brewer rewrote Joe Robert Cole's original screenplay. Snoop Dogg produces alongside Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer, Allan Mandelbaum and Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker.
The film will incorporate music from Snoop's catalogue. It is the first project under Death Row Pictures' overall agreement with NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios.
Erivo is a Tony, Grammy and Emmy winner whose recent work includes Elphaba in Wicked and Wicked: For Good. She also stars in and executive produces Prima Facie and appears in Children of Blood and Bone.
Her addition further develops the ensemble for Brewer's biographical project, combining family portrayals, musical collaborators and the artist's own catalogue.