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Cardi B continues to mourn the “untimely passing” of Takeoff.
Shortly after the Migos rapper’s memorial service in Atlanta on Friday (Nov. 11), Cardi took to social media to further reflect on the devastating loss.
“Takeoff your untimely passing has brought a great deal of pain and sorrow to so many lives. The impact you had in this world was so considerable and we have struggled to grasp this tragedy,” Cardi, who is married to Migos member Offset, wrote on Instagram alongside a photo gallery of Takeoff. “I am heartbroken but I am grateful for all the precious memories we got to share while you were here with us. This has truly been a nightmare and the pain is incomparable.”
Takeoff — a member of the Grammy-nominated trio Migos alongside his uncle, Quavo, and cousin, Offset — was killed by an unknown assailant while partying with Quavo at a billiard hall in Houston on Nov. 1.
Cardi, who previously collaborated with the rap group, also touched on the “emptiness” that his fellow Migos members are feeling in the days following his passing.
“The emptiness your brothers are feeling is unbearable and I pray that you give Offset ,Quavo, and your friends and family the strength to keep going as they are trying to cope with this loss,” she continued. “I believe that angels send signs and beautiful dreams to loved ones to assure them that they’re watching them and they’re okay and happy…send your mom some of those.”
Cardi closed her tribute by noting the significant impact Migos had on the music business. During their career, the three-piece released four studio albums, two of which — Culture (2017) and Culture II (2018) — debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The group also had chart-topping hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with 2016’s “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert.
“As a Migos fan it hurts me to look at pictures and videos of y’all together, and hearing y’all songs that changed the music industry and moved the culture and had the clubs lit,” Cardi wrote. “It hurts because I know it will never be the same again—but I know your bros and y’all fans will make sure the world never forgets the impact you made. I will remember your remarkable talent and your dope ass personality. I pray that you are at peace and in paradise because you deserve every bit of it. I know God opened the heavenly gates for you with a warm embrace. Rest in power TakeOff I will also love you 4L & after.”
See Cardi’s tribute to Takeoff on Instagram here.
Fans celebrated the musical legacy of slain rapper Takeoff on Friday (Nov. 11) at a memorial service in Atlanta, near where the artist grew up, that drew Justin Bieber, Drake and other big names in the music industry.
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Takeoff, part of the Grammy-nominated trio Migos with uncle Quavo and cousin Offset, was shot and killed earlier this month outside a Houston bowling alley. A woman and another man were also wounded in the shooting. No arrests have been made.
Jenifer Loving, 22, stood in line with her infant son, Mateo, for more than an hour before the doors at State Farm Arena opened to fans who were able to get a free ticket. She said Takeoff’s death was heartbreaking in part because he was only 28 years old.
Migos’ music represented the creativity and culture of the Black community, she said, and she worried the group would be too saddened to make new music — at least for a while.
“It’s just something that you can play anywhere, and everybody will just come out and come around and dance,” she said. “It’s how it brings people together. It’s how it makes the whole room just fill up with positivity.”
Eric Hood, an Atlanta firefighter, said he was shocked when he heard about Takeoff’s death because of the three members of Migos, he was considered the most laid back.
Migos’ music was an “escape” for many people, he said, and he was hopeful the event would leave the rapper’s family and the rest of the group with lasting memories of him.
“I pray for them,” he said. “I hope they continue to be uplifting, positive, influential members in the society and keep pushing forward.”
Dozens of fans lined up early at the arena, home to the Atlanta Hawks, despite rainy weather. A massive sign outside was lit up with the rapper’s image.
Free tickets to the memorial service were available to Georgia residents, but State Farm Arena said well before Friday that the event had reached capacity and fans without tickets should not come downtown.
Organizers did not release a program for the event or allow media inside. Several fans leaving the event confirmed Bieber and Drake’s presence and said Offset and Quavo also talked.
Atlanta resident Jeffrey Wilson said the event was moving.
“His mother was up there, and I could see the tears in her,” Wilson said. “I felt the kinship myself, like I knew him personally.”
Tyler Williams drove hours from Montgomery, Alabama, on Friday morning with his 2-year-old son, Ashton.
“He probably won’t remember it,” he said of his son. “But it’s something to have when he gets older, to know he was there.”
Migos broke out nearly a decade ago with the 2013 hit “Versace,” which hit even greater heights in popularity through a Drake remix. The trio were largely raised by Takeoff’s mother in an Atlanta suburb.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said the day after the shooting that Takeoff, born Kirsnick Khari Ball, was “well respected,” and there was “no reason to believe he was involved in anything criminal at the time.”
Migos’ record label, Quality Control, mourned Takeoff’s death in a statement posted on Instagram that attributed it to “senseless violence and a stray bullet.” Police have said nothing about the gunshot being stray.
Instead of flowers or gifts, his family has asked that people make donations to The Rocket Foundation, which was established in Takeoff’s honor and aims to prevent gun violence, according to its website.
Busta Rhymes has joined the list of artists pausing their own grooves to pay tribute to late Migos rapper Takeoff. In a video to fans, Busta revealed that he has pushed back the release of his The Fuse is Lit EP until next week (Nov. 18) in order to honor the MC who was gunned down on Nov. 1 in an as-yet-unsolved killing in Houston.
“Let us all collectively send love and light to our brothers, you know Takeoff… sending love and light to his beautiful family… sending love and light to our brothers [Migos members] Quavo and Offset, Quality Control Family,” Busta said in the somber video. “Family and friends that has been affected directly and indirectly by this tragedy.”
In light of that and his desire to support Takeoff’s family and friends at the rapper’s public funeral service in Atlanta on Friday (Nov. 11), Busta said he decided to push the EP’s release date by a week. “Send our love and beautiful energy to our brothers Migos and Quality Control and their beautiful families,” he said. The five-track EP — featuring collabs with Bid Daddy Kane, Skillibeng and Conway the Machine, as well as production from Swizz Beatz, Marly Marl and Focus — is Busta’s first release since 2020’s Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God.
Hours after the world learned that Takeoff (born Kirshnik Khari Ball), 28, was killed by an unknown assailant while partying with uncle Quavo at a Houston billiard hall, Rhymes penned a moving tribute to the Migos’ lyrical secret weapon. “It took a lot of time today and a lot of thoughts to try to figure where to start with this today,” he wrote. “There is no perspective that is the right perspective to look at things from when you experience the loss of life, especially when you love the life of people we loose.”
Takeoff’s funeral will kick off at noon at State Farm Arena in his hometown of Atlanta on Friday, with Alicia Keys slated to perform at the event that was open to Georgia residents only. The public memorial will have a strict no photo/no video policy, with all devices subject to gate check in Yondr bags prior to entering the arena. The rapper’s family requested that in lieu of flower or gifts, donations should be made to The Rocket Foundation, recently established to support programs supporting community-based solutions to prevent gun violence.
Drake announced earlier this week that he was postponing his planned show at Harlem’s Apollo Theater in order to mourn Takeoff.
Check out Busta’s announcement below.
Rising Philadelphia phenom Fridayy is in a rare class of hitmakers: the kind with two top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 — alongside some of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B of the 21st century — both of which were released before he even dropped an EP of his own.
The 25-year-old artist born Francis LeBlanc — a singer, writer, producer and multi-instrumentalist — grew up influenced by both R&B and gospel, with his mighty voice, modern touch, studio proficiency and versatility earning him production credits with Chris Brown and Rae Sremmurd in June. DJ Khaled called his name for an even bigger opportunity soon after, featuring him as a vocalist on his epic God Did title track, a star-studded affair that also included appearances from John Legend, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z. The track, which Fridayy also co-produced, earned a No. 17 debut on the Sept. 10-dated Hot 100, marking his first entry on the all-genre songs chart.
But perhaps the biggest look Fridayy has received amid his breakout year came in October with “Forever,” from Lil Baby’s Billboard 200-topping It’s Only Me. The song, which boasts impassioned bars from Lil Baby, is based on a collaboration of Fridayy’s with singer-rapper Vory that the latter posted to Instagram. Upon hearing it, Lil Baby demanded to know who the piercing voice on the clip’s hook belonged to — and after Fridayy elevated its production (with help from Bizness Boi and Fortune), it became an early fan favorite on It’s Only Me, debuting at No. 8 on the Hot 100.
Still riding the momentum from his two spotlight-stealing guest appearances, Fridayy talks with Billboard about the different receptions to those two top 20 hits — as well as his recent debut EP Lost in Melody, released Oct. 21, and what other collaborations are currently in the works.
How did you first get hooked up with Lil Baby?
It was actually through an artist named Vory. The song was originally me and Vory — I was on the hook and Vory was on the verses — and Vory posted it on Instagram. And then Lil Baby hit up Vory, like, “Who’s singing on the hook?” And then Vory was like, “That’s Fridayy.” And Lil Baby was like, “Man, I need that hook.” That’s how it came about: Vory showed love and helped me out on that part.
Had you ever gotten in contact with Lil Baby before? Did you have any kind of relationship with him?
Nah, I talked to him after, though. He FaceTimed me and all that, we talked. And then we was just choppin’ it up about the record.
At first, when I produced it, it was just piano. And then when I got on the phone with him, he was like, “Bro, I need like a beat.” He said it was so crazy, he forgot it ain’t had no beat! So I was like, “Bro, I’mma add the beat for you. And I’mma send it back to you tonight.” So I called my brothers Bizness Boi and Fortune — two producers that produced on it with me — and we got that right.
Did he give you any kind of instruction on what he wanted it to sound like, or did you just take it from what was already there on the song?
Yeah, at first I sent him like a couple ideas. But it was similar to, like, trap drums. But when I sent him it, he was like, “Bro, I want it more simple. You know what I mean? I don’t want too much going on.” So he kinda explained it to me how he wanted it, when it was like, a kick and a snare — just some simple vibes, not too much hi-hats. Once he told me that, we got it in the first try.
Had you been a fan of Lil Baby’s before this?
Of course. Like, that My Turn album? Even before that! I had been listening to Baby for a minute, since 2017, around “My Dawg,” around like “Freestyle” days. He one of them rappers today that like everybody look up to — my little cousin, my brothers look up to [him], you know what I mean? So that’s crazy to me.
How does being on a song with Lil Baby compare to being on a song with legends like Jay-Z and Lil Wayne and Rick Ross?
That’s a great question right there, bro. It’s like — the Jay-Z record, it was cool, it was great. Them the legends. But that one was more of, like, icon music-wise. And then Lil Baby one was like… for now. ‘Cause my little cousins are not listening to “God Did” every day. But the Lil Baby one? It opened me up to the youth.
Do you feel like those two songs prepared audiences for what to expect with you with your solo stuff? Or do you feel like that’s more just one side to you and there’s a lot more of you still to come on the EP and whatever else follows?
No, I feel like it was a good balance. Because “God Did” is really like a part of who I am. Even if you listen to the song, you hear the choirs, you hear the three-part harmony, you hear the piano. And if you listen to my EP, that’s how I’m coming on: with piano, choirs [and] soulful notes. So “God Did” was definitely like the perfect introduction to me. And “Forever” was like the perfect introduction to me, too. Just to show that side, with like the females and all that. Which, I got like two records [like that] on my EP.
How has the reaction been to the EP so far? Are you happy with the sort of response you’ve gotten to it?
Man, bro. I ain’t even have no expectations for my EP… So when I woke up the next day [after releasing it], I’m like, “Lemme just check the charts.” I’m thinking maybe I’d be like No. 199 R&B — like, late, late in the joint. I woke up, we was like No. 30 R&B on iTunes! I’m like… the f–k? And the sh-t kept going up! Right now, we at No. 11 R&B on iTunes! It went up to 7! Right now it’s sitting at 11.
But just to see my album next to SZA, next to The Weeknd, next to Summer Walker… it’s like, “damn!” I just look it at every day, like, “What the f–k?”
What is up next for you? Do you have any singles, any features, maybe an album coming?
Yeah, you already know. We working on the next project. We don’t know if it’s an album or an EP, but I’m already working on that. And I’m producing for a lot of [people in] the industry. I got two songs on Lil Tjay’s project coming out. I just produced a track on G Herbo’s album that just came out. You know, I’m still producing and writing for a lot of people. And then, it’s like, a lot of features coming, too. Just expect a lot of Fridayy features, for sure.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Nov. 5, 2022, issue of Billboard.
Philly rapper Tierra Whack was arrested at the Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday (Nov. 8) for possession of a loaded handgun. A spokesperson for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office confirmed to Billboard that Whack, 27, was taken into custody at the airport after officials found a loaded firearm at a security checkpoint.
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DA office spokesperson Jane Roh noted that Whack had a permit to carry a concealed firearm, and that she was charged with a summary offense for having a loaded firearms at an airport security checkpoint. TMZ reported that law enforcement sources said Whack’s bag was searched by Homeland Security at an X-ray checkpoint, where they discovered the weapon with six live rounds in the magazine and none in the chamber.
Authorities told TMZ they believed that the gun was mistakenly carried by Whack to the airport; the handgun was confiscated and Whack was issued a citation and released. A spokesperson for Whack could not be reached at press time.
Philly magazine noted that licensed handgun owners are legally allowed to bring a gun on a plane if they check it in a proper container at the ticket counter. If you try to bring it through the TSA checkpoint on your body or in a carry-on, however, that is a no go, even though it happens all the time. The magazine reported that according to the TSA, agents discover 17 guns a day at airports around the U.S., with strapped travelers setting a new record in 2021, when a total of 5,972 guns were intercepted by the TSA.
As for how often people try to fly with a loaded gun, the TSA said that during a single week agents discovered 64 guns in carry-on bags, 55 of which were loaded; agents confiscated 39 guns at Philadelphia International in 2021 and so far this year they’ve already taken away 38 guns, 28 of which were loaded.
A Florida appeals court ruled Wednesday that YNW Melly could face the death penalty if convicted in his upcoming murder trial, overturning a judge’s decision that prosecutors forfeited the right to seek capital punishment.
With a trial looming this past summer, Judge Andrew Siegel ruled that prosecutors couldn’t seek the death penalty because they had failed to give Melly and his attorneys proper notice that they planned to do so, violating strict state rules.
But in a ruling on Wednesday, Florida’s District Court of Appeal ruled the judge’s decision was incorrect. Since prosecutors gave notice that they might seek death when they first charged Melly in 2019, they had complied with state rules. “Notice is notice,” the court wrote in its opinion.
The ruling means that Melly could be sentenced to death if convicted in his upcoming trial. But that likely won’t take place until the Florida Supreme Court rules on the case, because Wednesday’s ruling certified the issue as one of “great public importance” that should be decided by the state high court.
In a statement to Billboard, Melly’s attorney Philip R. Horowitz said he and his client were “disappointed in the ruling” but “look forward to our opportunity to argue our position before the justices.”
The ruling came as Melly (real name Jamell Demons) continues to await trial on first-degree murder charges over accusations that he and another rapper shot and killed Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams and Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas Jr. in 2018.
A trial had previously been scheduled for April, but was called off at the last minute, prompting Melly’s attorneys to file a so-called “speedy trial demand” that would require the case to start within 60 days. Another trial was then set for July, but the case was again delayed over the current dispute about the death penalty.
A first-degree murder defendant in Florida would typically face the possibility of execution if convicted, but Melly’s attorneys argued in April that the state had failed to comply with strict laws on how they must warn defendants that they’ll seek the death penalty.
Florida requires prosecutors to give notice 45 days after arraignment if they plan to seek capital punishment. In Melly’s case, the state attorney filed such notice when they originally indicted the rapper in 2019 but failed to do so when a so-called superseding indictment was handed down earlier this year.
In July, Judge Siegel sided with Melly’s attorneys and said prosecutors had forfeited the chance to seek death. But after prosecutors argued that the ruling was clearly incorrect, Judge Siegel acknowledged that his ruling addressed a novel legal question and halted the case until a state appeals court could rule on it.
On Wednesday, the District Court of Appeal did so – and sided decisively with prosecutors.
“We find that the state complied with its statutory obligations when it filed its notice of intent to seek the death penalty within 45 days of arraignment,” Judge Spencer D. Levine wrote for the appeals court. “The fact that the state filed a superseding indictment, requiring a second arraignment, does not vitiate the already filed and timely notice of intent. Notice is notice.”
The ruling said that rules were designed to give defendants a fair chance to prepare for a death penalty argument, and that prosecutors had lived up to that requirement with their original notice.
“Clearly, in the present case, the defendant was noticed and apprised of the state seeking the death penalty in 2019,” Judge Levine wrote. “The defendant has had nearly three years to start the preparation of his defense to the state seeking the death penalty [and] the record contains no evidence that the defendant was prejudiced in any way.”
Melly’s attorneys can appeal the ruling to the Florida Supreme Court.
Bankroll Freddie was arrested in Jonesboro, Arkansas on Wednesday (Nov. 9) as part of a major federal drug and gun bust conducted across the state. The rapper (born Freddie Gladney III) and his father, Freddie Gladney Jr., were among more than 45 people swept up in the action according to a copy of the federal indictment.
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The indictment claims that from March 2021 through Oct. 2022 the defendants allegedly conspired to distribute and possess cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana and that Freddie possessed an arsenal of firearms that included at least three 9mm pistols, two rifles and machine guns “in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.”
Prosecutors claim that the Gladneys and their co-conspirators allegedly trafficked guns and drugs between Arkansas, Texas, California, Arizona, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Oklahoma and that the arrests were the culmination of three different investigations. According to the Associated Press, a statement from the U.S. Attorneys office in Little Rock said that two FBI investigations into gang violence and drug trafficking and a separate DEA investigation uncovered methamphetamine and fentanyl being mailed from California into Arkansas and then distributed in Little Rock, Pine Bluff and Houston; weapons, including machine guns, cash and drugs were all seized as part of the investigation.
At press time a spokesperson for Gladney, 28, had not returned a request for comment.
KAIT 8 reported that the FBI investigations focused on two rival Arkansas gangs: the “Every Body Killas Gang (EBK) and the “Loady Murder Mobb Gang.” After Pine Bluff detective Kevin Collins was shot and killed in Oct. 2020 while serving a warrant on an EBK member while assisting federal agents in their investigation into the gangs the information gleaned from his work allowed federal agents to obtain 12 wiretaps through June 2022 that helped prevent planned crimes and led to the arrest of Bankroll, his father and others.
According to court documents, Quality Control rapper Freddie is facing at least 11 charges, which include: possession of cocaine, possession of crack cocaine, possession of marijuana, two counts of intent to distribute marijuana, knowingly and intentionally possession firearms, three counts of providing false/fictitious information on a gun purchase form, using guns for gun trafficking, using a telephone to traffic drugs and knowingly possessing one or more machine guns.
Freddie was arrested in Arkansas in April on multiple charges, including resisting arrest/refusal to submit to arrest/active or passive refusal, “simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms,” as well as a felony count of possession of a schedule VI controlled substance with the purpose to deliver, speeding and an additional possession charge.
Arkansas native Freddie joined the Quality Control team in 2019 after releasing his single “Drip Like This” and the Saved By the Bales mixtape, followed by 2020’s From Trap to Rap album, had features from Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, Moneybagg Yo and Young Dolph. After singing to Motown Records in 2020, he dropped the 2021 single “Add It Up, followed by the Megan Thee Stallion collab “Pop It” from his 2021 album Big Bank. He released a collab with Icewear Vezzo, “Picking Sides,” around the time of the April arrest, followed by his From Trap to Rap 2 album.
A new Chinx posthumous album titled Chinx Drugz 6 is on the way, his label announced Thursday (Nov. 10). The release, set for Dec. 2, will come two days ahead of the late rapper’s Dec. 4 birthday.
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“It’s been 7 years since we lost Lionel Pickens P.K.A Chinx Drugz,” Chinx’s former manager Doug Ellison said in a statement. “To the people that know and love him it still feels like yesterday! As his friend, manager, and executive producer, I had the pleasure of witnessing his evolution into the artist many grew to love. With the release of CR6, we decided to approach the project with the same intensity that we approached his albums while returning to the street roots, club chants, and anthems Chinx was known for.”
While the album’s official track list isn’t out yet, a variety of collaborators have been announced, including Benny the Butcher and Quavo & Offset of Migos. Chinx’s brother JFK WAXX will also appear on the record.
Chinx, also known as Chinx Drugz, rose to prominence as a contributor to French Montana’s Coke Boys, a collaborative project that started in September 2010. Chinx’s song “I’m a Coke Boy” later rocketed him to budding stardom.
The rapper was murdered in May 2015 while in Jamaica, Queens. The culprits reportedly targeted Chinx based on a six-year-long grudge that developed while Chinx was serving time on Rikers Island.
Chinx’s death is also being revisited in WE tv’s Hip Hop Homicides series, which is being produced by rapper 50 Cent. Other murdered rappers being explored on the series include Pop Smoke, XXXTentacion, and King Von. Chinx’s episode will air Nov. 24 on WE tv.
“This project shows his diversity and lyrical ability is still unmatched. It has been a four year journey that includes some of his most candid recordings. Our goal has been to keep the integrity of each recording while punching through with the finished product!
Fans can pre-save the album here.
Following Adidas’ highly publicized split from Kanye “Ye” West last month after he espoused antisemitic sentiments on a multi-stop media tour, the sportswear company has plans to do what many predicted might happen: rebrand Yeezy products in order to continue selling them without Ye.
On a quarterly earnings call this morning (Nov. 9), according to Insider, Adidas shared that it intends to release more Yeezys without the artist, who began his business partnership with the company in 2013. Adidas CFO Harm Ohlmeyer confirmed what the company’s public statement, released in late October, said: “Adidas is the sole owner of all design rights registered to existing product. We intend to make use of these rights as early as 2023.”
Following Adidas’ highly publicized split from Kanye “Ye” West last month after he espoused antisemitic sentiments on a multi-stop media tour, the sportswear company has plans to do what many predicted might happen: rebrand Yeezy products in order to continue selling them without Ye.
On a quarterly earnings call this morning, according to Insider, Adidas shared that it intends to release more Yeezys without the artist, who began his business partnership with the company in 2013. Adidas CFO Harm Ohlmeyer confirmed what the company’s public statement, released in late October, said: “Adidas is the sole owner of all design rights registered to existing product. We intend to make use of these rights as early as 2023.”
In announcing their split from Ye last month, the company explained, “Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.
Universal has enlisted Black Panther: Wakanda Forever co-writer Joe Robert Cole and director Allen Hughes, who with his brother Albert directed movies such as Menace II Society and Dead Presidents, to tackle a definitive biopic of the influential, iconic rapper and entertainment mogul Snoop Dogg.
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Snoop is heavily involved with the project announced Wednesday, which will incorporate music from his cast catalog. He is also producing the feature along with Sara Ramaker and Hughes. The project will mark the inaugural film from Snoop’s Death Row Pictures which he runs with 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,” said Snoop in a statement. “It was the perfect marriage. It was holy matrimony, not holy macaroni.”
Snoop, whose real name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., shot to fame in the early 1990s West Coast rap scene thanks to his collaborations with Dr. Dre and then his one-two-punch albums, Doggystyle and The Doggfather. He parlayed that into a media and business empire, becoming an actor, DJ and media personality as well as an entrepreneur with ties to technology, global consumer brands, food and beverage industries, and of course, the cannabis world.
With 35 million albums worldwide, he is a 17-time Grammy nominee, an American Music Award winner, and a Primetime Emmy Award winner. He has played himself in countless series and appeared in movies such as Training Day, Starsky & Hutch and this summer’s Jamie Foxx vampire action movie Day Shift.
“Snoop Dogg’s life and legacy makes him one of the most exciting and influential icons in popular culture,” stated Donna Langley, chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. “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.”
Universal has had previous success tapping into rap culture with musical biopics focusing on key artists. In 2015, it released Straight Outta Compton, centered on the West Coast hip-hop scene and N.W.A, the seminal group that Dr. Dre was a part of. The film grossed over $200 million and earned an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay. With 2002’s 8 Mile, it told a thinly-veiled autobiographical story of Eminem and his rise into an industry and genre dominated by Black artists. That movie grossed over $250 million and won the Oscar for best original song with “Lose Yourself.”
With the Snoop biopic in development, Universal will now have a trifecta of the artists — Snoop, Dr. Dre, and Eminem — who performed during this year’s Super Bowl halftime show.
Hughes and his brother, both born in Detroit and grew up in Southern California, made their names by telling stories of the Black experience with Menace and Dead Presidents at the same time as Snoop was making his rise. In 2017, he tackled the music scene by directing The Defiant Ones, the award-winning four-part HBO documentary focused on Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine.
“Snoop Dogg is one of the most internationally beloved figures in hip-hop,” states Hughes. “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.”
Cole is a generation younger than Snoop and Hughes and grew up influenced by their work as he made his mark as a screenwriter. He’s notably worked with Ryan Coogler on the two Black Panther movies as well as a writer-producer on the Emmy-winning FX series American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson, for which he received an Emmy nomination for writing the episode “The Race Card.”
“I’ve been a fan of Snoop since ‘Deep Cover,’” says Cole. “His music and the films of Allen Hughes have left an indelible mark on me over my life. What excites me most is the humanity of Snoop’s journey to international icon. Universal has proven they can guide a movie like this to something special. I’m proud to be a part of the team.”
NBCUniversal’s president of music and publishing, Mike Knobloch, will supervise the project’s music. Universal’s senior vp of production and development Ryan Jones will oversee the project for the studio.
Snoop is repped by Stephen Barnes of Morris Yorn. Hughes is repped by WME and Hansen, Jacobson while Cole is repped by Circle of Confusion and Jackoway Austen.
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.
