Universal Pictures is filling out the world surrounding Snoop Dogg as its upcoming biopic adds several familiar names from the rapper’s personal life and West Coast hip-hop history.
Laya DeLeon Hayes, Olly Sholotan, Corey Champagne and Jonica Booth have joined the cast of Snoop, the feature film chronicling the life and career of the Long Beach rapper who became one of hip-hop’s most recognizable stars.
Hayes will portray Shante Broadus, Snoop Dogg’s wife, bringing one of the most significant relationships in his life to the screen. Sholotan has been tapped to play Kurupt, while Champagne will portray Nate Dogg and Booth will take on the role of The Lady of Rage.
Those additions give the movie more of the personalities who helped shape the musical world surrounding Snoop during his rise to fame.
The film is expected to trace Snoop’s path from Long Beach to the center of the 1990s West Coast rap explosion and his eventual transformation into an international entertainment personality. His music will also be part of the production, giving filmmakers access to a catalog closely tied to several defining eras of hip-hop.
Craig Brewer is directing the project after rewriting an original screenplay by Joe Robert Cole.
Snoop Dogg is also taking an active role behind the camera as a producer alongside Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker. Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer and Allan Mandelbaum are producing as well, with Michael Beugg and Jeb Brody serving as executive producers.
The movie carries additional significance for Snoop’s growing entertainment operation. It is the first project produced under Death Row Pictures’ overall agreement with NBCUniversal Entertainment, extending the Death Row name beyond its famous musical legacy and further into film and television.
With characters including Kurupt, Nate Dogg and The Lady of Rage now represented, the film is assembling more than a portrait of one superstar. Its expanding cast points toward a broader look at the artists, relationships and cultural movement surrounding Snoop Dogg as his career took off.
Production is expected to get underway around Los Angeles in September, with Snoop currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on August 6, 2027.
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