"The Underdoggs": Snoop Dogg's cinematic exploration of community, football, and family Bonds

In his latest cinematic venture, "The Underdoggs," Snoop Dogg explores the profound theme of building a resilient community that evolves into a close-knit family.

Speaking about Charles Stone III’s R-rated comedy, the rapper emphasized the diversity of personalities and unique stories that each character brings to the film, which is set to be available for streaming on Prime Video this Friday. The narrative delves into the world of youth football, a subject intimately familiar to Snoop Dogg.

The inspiration for the film draws from Snoop Dogg's real-life involvement with the Snoop Youth Football League, an organization he established over a decade ago in Southern California. Notably, the league has produced several players who went on to join the NFL, including C.J. Stroud, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Daiyan Henley.

Serving as one of the film's producers alongside "black-ish" creator Kenya Barris, Snoop Dogg takes on the role of an NFL star wide receiver named Jaycen, who faces expulsion from the league due to poor sportsmanship. Ordered to perform community service in his hometown of Long Beach, California, Jaycen reluctantly mentors a struggling youth football team for self-serving reasons.

The film features an ensemble cast including Tika Sumpter, Mike Epps, Andrew Schulz, Kal Penn, Kandi Burruss, and George Lopez. Snoop Dogg, drawing from his real-life coaching experiences, expressed how closely the film mirrors the kids he coached in the Snoop Youth Football League.

One of the central themes of "The Underdoggs" revolves around the concept of family, as highlighted by Sumpter, who portrays Cherise, the former girlfriend of Snoop Dogg's character. She notes that the storyline encapsulates elements of family, with Snoop's character returning to his first love, football, and reconnecting with his community and high school sweetheart.

Snoop Dogg, in discussing his portrayal, shared his desire to have a group of kids whose demeanor matched his character's begrudging attitude. He explained incorporating a different coaching approach for his character, Jaycen, making him more verbal and aggressive towards the kids to create a distinct separation from Snoop Dogg himself.