While Tupac will always be remembered for his music, and by conspiracy theorists who maintain that he is alive and in Cuba, there will now be five part docuseries that incorporates all of his released recordings as well as his unpublished writings and poetry. Shakur was murdered at the young age of 25 and his brief but abundant recording career and unconventional time in the spotlight remains shrouded in a haze of mystery and glamour. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he has sold over 75 million globally to date.
This is the first time the executors of the Shakur estate have cooperated with producers looking to use Tupac’s previously unreleased material. Variety reports that it will be Allen Hughes that directs and produces this project, a former collaborator of Shakur’s with a less than stellar history. One might remember Hughes as the director of HBO’s docuseries, The Defiant Ones, which won a Grammy and received several Emmy nominations. With this series, Hughes will also be working with Lasse Järvi and Charles D. King in executive producer roles.
As to Hughes spotty history with Shakur, for that you’d have to go back to the early 1990s. At the time, Hughes and his brother Albert were making music videos and slowly transitioning into a more traditional filmic medium. In 1993, at the time of the beef, the Hughes brothers were directing their breakthrough film, Menace II Society, and had cast Shakur in a role that they were struggling to agree on the characterization of. When shooting a different music video for the film, a fistfight broke out and the final result was a seriously injured Allen Hughes. Ultimately, Hughes pressed charges, Shakur was found guilty and served a total of 15 days.
While they may not have reconciled within each other’s lifetimes, both Shakur and Hughes have come to terms with the matter. Just outside the courtroom that day, Shakur advised his fans, saying, “Think about it. Two and a half minutes just cost me 15 days.” While his remorse may not have been totally apparent, Hughes did not seem to fault him absolutely for the matter, saying, “[He] experienced massive fame… and his diet… consisted of weed, chicken wings, and Hennessy. Not a great mix!”
Hughes goes on to say that Shakur was one of the sweetest people he had ever met. Hughes mentions that Shakur apologized via Vibe magazine a few months before he died, but that he didn’t really come to terms with the apology until after the making of The Defiant Ones.