‘The Purge’ Star Camron Jones Lands the Role of Tupac in Snoop Dogg Biopic
Snoop Dogg’s rise from Long Beach to global rap icon has always been inseparable from his early years at Death Row Records, a chapter defined as much by collaboration as by conflict. Few relationships from that era carry as much weight as his friendship and eventual falling out with Tupac Shakur, making the casting of that role one of the most closely watched decisions in Universal’s upcoming biopic.
That decision has now been made. Camron Jones, known for his work on ‘Panic’ and ‘P-Valley,’ has been cast as Tupac Shakur in ‘Snoop,’ Universal’s feature chronicling the life of the entertainment mogul, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Jones joins ‘Outer Banks’ star Jonathan Daviss, who was previously announced as Snoop Dogg himself, rounding out one of the film’s most pivotal casting pairs.
The film is being directed by Craig Brewer, known for ‘Hustle & Flow,’ ‘Dolemite Is My Name,’ and ‘Song Sung Blue,’ who also wrote the latest draft of the script after an earlier version by ‘Black Panther’ co-writer Joe Robert Cole. Brian Grazer, the veteran producer behind ‘8 Mile,’ is producing through Imagine Entertainment alongside Allan Mandelbaum, with Snoop Dogg himself and Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker also serving as producers.
Snoop and Tupac were labelmates on Death Row Records during the mid-1990s, collaborating on tracks like “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted” before tensions tied to the West Coast-East Coast rap rivalry eventually strained their relationship. Shakur pressed Snoop to take sides in that conflict, a dynamic expected to factor heavily into the film’s portrayal of their bond before Shakur’s death in 1996.
Jones’ casting arrives alongside another key addition to the cast. Lauren London, known for ‘Without Remorse’ and ‘ATL,’ has been cast as Snoop’s late mother, Beverly Tate, according to Deadline. Tate, also known as Beverly Broadus-Green, is credited with giving her son the childhood nickname “Snoopy,” inspired by the Peanuts character, which later became the basis for his stage name. She died in 2021 at age 70.
The cast has continued growing beyond just its two central figures. Myles Bullock is set to play Dr. Dre, the producer who discovered Snoop and helped shape his debut album, ‘Doggystyle,’ which reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart in 1993. Snoop first revealed the project and introduced Daviss as his on-screen counterpart during a surprise appearance at CinemaCon in Las Vegas earlier this year.
Snoop has described the project as something he waited years to get right, previously saying he wanted to choose the right director, writer, and studio partner capable of understanding “the legacy that I’m trying to portray on screen, and the memory I’m trying to leave behind,” according to Screen Daily’s coverage of the film’s original announcement. The film will also incorporate music from Snoop’s extensive catalog throughout its runtime.
‘Snoop’ is currently set for release in U.S. theaters on August 6, 2027, with Universal describing it as the “definitive biopic” of the rapper’s life and legacy. With its central cast now largely in place, the film appears to be building toward a faithful, deeply personal account of one of hip-hop’s most influential and complicated eras.
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