Snoop Dogg is getting his own biopic, courtesy of Snoop Dogg
It’s official: the life and times of Snoop D-O-Double G will soon hit the big screen. On Wednesday 9 November 2022, Universal Pictures announced that it is developing the first-ever definitive biopic of the 51-year-old pop culture icon.
Enlisting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever co-writer Joe Robert Cole and filmmaker Allen Hughes, who co-directed movies like Menace II Society and Dead Presidents, the upcoming feature is set to incorporate music from Snoop’s 30-year-long career—which will only add to the authenticity of its storytelling. The project will also mark the inaugural film from Snoop’s new production company, Death Row Pictures, which he runs with Sara Ramaker.
“I waited a long time to put this project together because I wanted to choose the right director, the perfect writer, and the greatest movie company I could partner with that could understand the legacy that I’m trying to portray on screen, and the memory I’m trying to leave behind,” Snoop said in a statement.
“It was the perfect marriage,” he added. “It was holy matrimony, not holy macaroni.”
Snoop, real name Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., had his first brush with fame in the early 1990s West Coast rap scene following his collaborations with Dr. Dre and iconic albums, Doggystyle and The Doggfather. He later dipped his toes into media and business and became an entrepreneur with ties to technology, global consumer brands, food and beverage, and, of course, the cannabis industry.
Today, with 35 million albums sold worldwide, the rapper is a 17-time Grammy nominee, an American Music Award winner, and a Primetime Emmy Award winner—having played himself in countless series and featured in movies including Training Day, Starsky & Hutch, and Day Shift.
Universal Pictures has also previously handled the 2015 N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton, where Snoop was portrayed by Lakeith Stanfield.
“Snoop Dogg’s life and legacy make him one of the most exciting and influential icons in popular culture,” stated Donna Langley, chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, in a statement. “We met with Snoop shortly after he acquired Death Row Records and had the opportunity to hear his story in his own words. We are humbled to be able to create the lasting document of this singular artist.”
While the company is yet to announce who will portray Snoop in the upcoming biopic, the rapper has previously mentioned that he was working on a biographical project he described as “The ‘Snoop Dogg anthology’, the life story of Snoop Dogg.”
“[The project would follow] me being the ‘Black Forest Gump’, so to speak, seeing me in all of these highlighted moments in American history,” he told outlets back in 2021. At the time, however, he didn’t envision the project hitting big screens worldwide.
“Snoop Dogg is one of the most internationally beloved figures in hip-hop,” filmmaker Hughes went on to note. “There’s just something about his energy that brings people of all walks of life together. Snoop Dogg, not just the artist, but the man and his brand, has transcended generations with his connection and appeal to audiences.”
“His story is so authentic and utterly inspiring, and to have the opportunity to tell his story allows me to go back to the hood 30 years after Menace II Society, and say more now than I could then.”
