Tupac Shakur and Afeni Shakur.Photo: Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images; Frank Mullen/WireImage
Allen Hughes, the director behindDear Mama, a docuseries aboutTupac’s life and career through his mother’s story, is opening up about how he became involved in the project after the late rapper attacked him as a teen.
In light of the docuseries premiering on Friday, Hughes spoke toAPabout how the fight went down in 1993, how he got over it — and when he knew he made the “right decision” to take the project on.
Hughes said it took him “a few years to get over it.” And though he did receive a public apology from the “All Eyez on Me” rapper, he wasn’t ready to accept it at the time.
“I wish I was man enough to have connected with him at the time. I’ve since seen all the audio visuals with him saying he was remorseful about it, which I never knew existed,” he said. “But we were kids. We were all 19 when that happened.”
Tupac Shakur.Raymond Boyd/Getty
The filmmaker also reflected on the moment he knew this was the right move.
“I was standing on Malibu Beach and I’m walking. That’s when it happened,” he said.
“In the meeting, when I went back to accept the assignment, one of the people from the estate slid an address in a piece of paper over to me. I’m like, ‘What is this?’ And they go, ‘Your address is yards away from where we put Tupac’s ashes.’ That’s when I got goosebumps. That’s when I definitely knew I made the right decision.”
Watch the five-part docuseries — which draws parallels to Shakur’s career as a hip-hop icon and his mother’s activism — Friday on FX. It will be available to stream on Hulu the following day.
source: people.com
