Back in 1995, Tupac “2Pac” Shakur released a song titled “Dear Mama” off the Me Against the World album. Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry classified that personal track dedicated to the Hip Hop icon’s mother, Afeni Shakur, as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically” significant to the United States.
Director Allen Hughes explores Tupac Shakur and Afeni Shakur’s relationship in the forthcoming Shakur Estate-backed Dear Mama documentary series. The FX network will air the first two episodes of the 5-part series on April 21 at 10 pm ET/PT.
“Wherever possible, we tried to find archival footage that hadn’t been seen so there’s a lot that we have in the five parts,” said Hughes about Dear Mama during FX’s TCA presentation earlier this year. “There’s also audio that’s never been heard.”
Hughes continued, “And not just some of his acapellas and vocals, there is a lot of stuff of Tupac from his baby years that had never been seen. For Tupac superfans, I believe that two of the most important things in the project [are] the never seen before. But most importantly, you get to understand why he made certain decisions.”
Tupac Shakur Once Admitted to Attacking Allen Hughes And His Brother
Allen Hughes is one-half of The Hughes Brothers directorial team with Albert Hughes. The siblings’ filmography includes 1993’s Menace II Society, 1995’s Dead Presidents, 1999’s American Pimp, and 2010’s The Book of Eli.
Additionally, Allen Hughes oversaw HBO’s The Defiant Ones television documentary series. That four-part program covered the careers of Beats Electronics co-founders/music indurtsy heavyweights Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre.
Allen Hughes also has a direct connection to the late Tupac Shakur. While appearing on a 1993 episode of Yo! MTV Raps, 2Pac admitted to assaulting The Hughes Brothers over losing his role in the Menace II Society film.
Tupac Amaru Shakur put out four full-length studio LPs before his death in September 1996. Numerous posthumous projects arrived after gunmen killed the 25-year-old entertainer in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Afeni Shakur passed away in 2016 at the age of 69.