USA Network has cast Marcc Rose (Straight Outta Compton) and Wavyy Jonez to star in the upcoming true crime serial, Unsolved: The Murders of Biggie and Tupac. Rose will play Tupac Shakur and Jonez has signed on to play Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Smalls in the series based on former LAPD Detective Greg Kading’s experiences in the murder investigations detailed in his book, Murder Rap: The Untold Story of Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur Murder Investigations. Anthony Hemingway (The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story) is on board to direct and executive produce along with Mark Taylor and writer Kyle Long. Kading is involved as a consultant on the pilot and as a co-executive producer.
Rose and Jonez join Josh Duhamel (‘Detective Kading’), Jimmi Simpson (‘Detective Russell Poole’), and Bokeem Woodbine (‘Officer Daryn Dupree’) in the scripted series.
Rose’s first film role was playing Tupac in director F. Gary Gray’s critically acclaimed drama, Straight Outta Compton. Jonez will be making his acting debut as Biggie Smalls after being discovered during an open casting call. Jonez is a rapper who recently released his first mixtape, R.E.D. D.O.P.E. (Real Everyday Drama Doing Over People’s Expectation).