Son of D'Angelo and Angie Stone plays Biggie Smalls in Snoop biopic

Universal Pictures has announced a new wave of cast members for the upcoming theatrical biopic Snoop, about the life of rapper Snoop Dogg. The most notable addition is SwayvoTwain, the stage name of Michael D'Angelo Archer Jr., the son of the recently deceased R&B legends D'Angelo and Angie Stone. He will be playing the Notorious B.I.G., one of the most iconic rappers of all time. For SwayvoTwain, who has been working as a musician over the past few years, this marks his first major acting role. He did have a small part in the 2022 straight to streaming film Strictly for the Streets Vol. 2.

The young actor celebrated his casting on Instagram with a montage of recent footage, including a brief clip alongside Snoop Dogg himself. As a caption he wrote "It's all good baby, BABYYY," a nod to the opening lines of the Notorious B.I.G. classic "Juicy." Joining SwayvoTwain are G Perico and Bentley Green. G Perico, a well known name in the West Coast rap scene, will play Big Reecie Cup. Bentley Green, who first gained fame as a child rapper on The Ellen Show, will step into the role of RBX.

The core cast had already been announced previously. Jonathan Daviss from the series Outer Banks plays Snoop Dogg himself, under his earlier stage name Snoop Doggy Dogg. Also featured are Myles Bullock as Dr. Dre, Camron Jones as Tupac Shakur, Algee Smith as Warren G, Tre Hale as Suge Knight, and Laya DeLeon Hayes as Shante Broadus, the woman Snoop Dogg has been married to for nearly thirty years. According to earlier reports, Corey Champagne as Nate Dogg, Olly Sholotan as Kurupt, Jonica Booth as Lady of Rage, and Lauren London as Snoop Dogg's mother Beverly Tate are also part of the production. According to IMDB, filming has already wrapped.

The film is directed by Craig Brewer, who previously made a name for himself with Hustle & Flow. The original screenplay was written by Joe Robert Cole, known for Black Panther. Snoop Dogg is involved as a producer, alongside Sara Ramaker, president of Death Row Pictures. The film also marks the first theatrical release under the broader partnership between Death Row Pictures and NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios. The expected release date is August 6, 2027. Universal Pictures was also behind 2015's Straight Outta Compton, the successful N.W.A. biopic in which Lakeith Stanfield played Snoop Dogg.

How the film will portray the relationship between Snoop and Biggie remains to be seen. The two rappers were friends but moved on opposite sides of the infamous East Coast/West Coast rivalry that tore the hip hop world apart in the nineties. Snoop has said in a previous interview with Fatman Scoop that the song "New York, New York," which was widely seen as a diss aimed at the Notorious B.I.G., was never intended that way. He used a beat that producer DJ Pooh had originally made for Biggie for a commercial, and asked for permission out of respect for Biggie. When Snoop and Tha Dogg Pound flew to New York to shoot the music video, Biggie reportedly announced on the radio where they were filming, after which shots were fired near the set, though no one was hurt. Snoop seemed to hold no grudge against Biggie and described an encounter shortly after the death of Tupac Shakur. "I can look in his eyes and I can see that he hurt," Snoop said about Biggie. "He didn't even have to say it... This is not a man that's happy or glamorized; this is his friend that's dead."