As an EGOT-in-waiting — she’s only an Oscar away from going all the way — Cynthia Erivo is seen as an actress who can typically do it all. Her next role will test that theory as she enters hip-hop territory playing the mother to one of our greatest rap icons.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Erivo is set to portray the late Afeni Shakur, the woman who gave birth to the one and only 2Pac, in the highly-anticipated upcoming Snoop Dogg biopic.
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Erivo will be joining a cast that’s already shaping up to be an interesting ensemble. With Snoop, newcomer Jonathan Daviss takes on the titular role, joined further by Myles Bullock Be as Dr. Dre, Lauren London as Snoop’s mom Beverly Tate, Algee Smith as Warrren G, Tre Hale as Suge Knight, Laya DeLeon Hayes as wife Shante Taylor, Olly Sholotan as Kurupt, Corey Champagne as Nate Dogg, Jonica Booth as Lady Of Rage, Swayvo Twain as The Notorious B.I.G. and Camron Jones taking on the role of 2Pac. Fittingly enough, production is currently underway in Southern California.
Some may be scratching their heads at how Afeni correlates into the life story of Snoop Dogg, but the emcee has been very vocal in the past on how she provided guidance in his life prior to her death on May 2, 2016. While at the red carpet premiere of Hulu’s Dear Mama back in 2023, he spoke to Extra about his excitement to see the docuseries, stating, “I had a chance to get a relationship with her and to know her, to meet her, to have her be a part of my life, so I’m anxious to see what the story is about, and that relationship is so crucial to the world we live in right now with mother and son.”
He later went into detail about what that relationship entailed, also adding, “She was always a special woman, a strong woman, a strong Black woman. She led by example, so just having intimate conversation with her about, you know, what I was doing with my life and how I was trying to better myself and just giving me input on that I was doing the right thing and to continue to do what I was doing, so she was always strong and spiritual and inspirational to me.”
Director Craig Brewer is working off the latest draft of Snoop, initially written by Joe Robert Cole. With Snoop Dogg himself and Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker standing in as producers, we can expect the music to be in tact and the details to be coming straight from the source. Seeing how rare stories like his bond with Afeni Shakur play out will prove to be the ultimate seat-filler when the film hits theaters in 2027.