*Tupac Shakur’s past, present and future were the topics of discussion during a panel Q&A that kicked off Monday’s (Feb. 2) opening of the Grammy Museum’s latest exhibit, All Eyez on Me: The Writings of Tupac Shakur.
The seven-member panel for the Q&A included those who collaborated with Shakur was well as close friends, Billboard’s Gail Mitchell noted while highlighting panel members Public Enemy frontman Chuck D, Outlawz member Edidon and director John Singleton. Singleton’s presence at the event attracted questions from attendees regarding the status of his biopic on Shakur.
“I’m going to dodge that right now,” the filmmaker responded. “I’m very passionate person who wants to make the movie I want to make. Tupac’s soul would come back and haunt my ass if it wasn’t done right. His journey was so specific, but it affected billions of people.”
As for the infamous Tupac hologram that performed at the 2012 Coachella festival, Chuck D wondered what the rhymesayer would’ve thought about the hologram if he were around to see it.
“I don’t know if Pac would have been all right with that,” Chuck D said. “Would he have been smiling or swinging with a stick?”
Questions about Shakur’s time at Death Row Records prior to his death in 1996 were also brought to Edidon, who was brief in what plans Shakur had regarding Death Row and his own label Makaveli Records. Shakur’s mother Afeni Shakur, sister Sekyiwa Shakur, stepbrother Mopreme Shakur and rapper YG were among the guests Mitchell observed among those in the audience. YG would later take the stage to touch on Shakur’s influence on his music, saying, and “If it’s not true, it won’t work.”
The 90-minute panel Q&A was among the highlights taking place amid the opening of “All Eyez on Me: The Writing of Tupac Shakur.” The exhibit, coordinated by Grammy museum associate curator Nwaka Onwusa, explores Shakur’s life from his stint with Digital Underground through his fame as a solo artist.
Items featured include Shakur’s handwritten notes, lyrics and poems as well as a Versace suit he wore at the 38th annual Grammy Awards in 1996, interviews and performance footage, and the original tape box and studio notes from his first recording after his prison release.
The Grammy Museum, which worked in cooperation with Shakur’s estate, is the first music museum to focus squarely on Shakur’s creative legacy.
All Eyez on Me: The Writings of Tupac Shakur is scheduled to run through April 22 at the Grammy Museum. For Mitchell’s full story on the exhibit opening and Q&A, click here.
