One of the most well-known rappers of the 1990s is teaming up with a media company to bring a biopic to life and let everyone know “Who Am I” after all.
What Happened: Rapper Snoop Dogg will be the subject of a biopic from Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA).
Those who attended VeeCon 2022 won’t bee too surprised by the news, as the rapper told the audience he was working on a biopic of his life that would show his story focused on growing from a kid in LBC (Long Beach City) all the way to becoming “your favorite rapper.”
The biopic will follow a couple busy years for Snoop that have seen him dive into the world of non-fungible tokens, acquire Death Row Records, a Super Bowl halftime performance and even performing as a Bored Ape NFT at the MTV Video Music Awards alongside Eminem.
Universal Pictures is partnering with the newly formed Death Row Pictures on the biopic. Allen Hughes will direct the movie and Joe Robert Cole will write the screenplay. Snoop, Hughes and Sara Ramaker are attached as producers, according to Deadline.
“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. It was the perfect marriage. It was holy matrimony, not holy macaroni,” Snoop said.
Hughes previously worked on docuseries “The Defiant Ones” about Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine for HBO. Hughes is also directing and producing “Dear Mama,” a documentary on Tupac Shakur and his mother Afeni Shakur.
Cole co-wrote “Black Panther” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” with the movie’s director Ryan Coogler.
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Why It’s Important: The biopic will come after Snoop Dogg acquired Death Row Records earlier this year. The record label could benefit from the usage of songs by Snoop in the movie. Often times, biopics on musicians lead to increased interest in their songs.
“I wanted to be the CEO of Death Row Records and basically take over the merchandise, and rerelease their music, do documentaries, and possibly do my life story,” Snoop told GQ in December 2021.
Universal Pictures is no stranger to biopics on musicians, previously distributing Academy Award winner “Ray” based on Ray Charles and “Straight Outta Compton” based on rap group N.W.A. Universal also has biopics in the works on Madonna and Cher according to the report.
“Snoop Dogg’s life and legacy make him one of the most exciting and influential icons in pop culture,” Universal Chairman Donna Langley said. “We met with Snoop shortly after he acquired Death Row Records and had the opportunity to hear his story in his own words.”
“Straight Outta Compton” grossed $161.2 million domestically and over $200 million worldwide. The 2015 release is the second highest grossing music biopic of all-time domestically, trailing only the 2018 Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Along with the recent box office success of music biopics, many of the releases have been Academy Award darlings with movies like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Walk the Line” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” all winning Best Actor Oscars.
No word on who will be playing Snoop Dogg in the movie yet. Ice Cube's son O'Shea Jackson Jr. portrayed his father in "Straight Outta Compton." Perhaps one of Snoop's kids is up for the task to play their father in the movie.
The biopic could very well be “The Next Episode” in Snoop Dogg’s long lasting career.
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Photo via Shutterstock.
