*Filmmaker Allen Hughes is speaking out about his inspiration behind the new documentary about Tupac and the late rapper’s relationship with his mother, Afeni Shakur.
We previously reported that the five-part documentary is a re-telling of Pac’s relationship with his mother, a noted civil rights activist and Black Panther member. Afeni died in 2016 at age 69.
According to a news release, the series features interviews from people who personally knew Afeni and the hip-hop icon, as well as never-before-heard or seen music, writings, and poetry from Pac.
“It was tough, because me and Tupac have a complex history, to say the least,” Hughes told Variety at the Los Angeles debut of the FX docuseries “Dear Mama” at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
“When you sit with Snoop Dogg and you’re exploring stuff that happened 25 years ago with a man who’s now 50, who’s had the opportunity to progress as a man and mature as a man, talking about his friend who didn’t make it past 25. … That’s a surreal experience to watch,” Hughes explained.
“You’ll see as the series goes on, men talking about what boys did and the actions of boys who weren’t yet men, and that’s emotional,” Hughes said.
Hughes went on to explain the motivation behind putting this series together.
“When I was asked to consider doing this, I said, ‘There’s a lot I don’t understand about Tupac.’ I think he’s one of the most misunderstood figures of the 20th century,” Hughes recalled. “I said, ‘I’ll probably learn a lot more if I discover Afeni and her narrative.’”
As Variety reports, “Dear Mama” features “archive footage of Tupac and Afeni discussing their lives, as well as interviews with close family and friends — including Glo Cox (Afeni’s sister and Tupac’s aunt), Mutulu (Tupac’s stepfather),” the outlet writes.
Black Panther Party leader Jamal Joseph serves as an executive producer on the project.
“Through Afeni and Tupac, we revisit and rediscover the times in broader context,” Joseph said during the Q&A. Speaking directly to Hughes, he added “I remember this brilliant thing you said, ‘This is like a Trojan horse. We’ll get into to people’s living rooms and their devices because it’s Tupac and Afeni. But then, when we open it up, people have to look at themselves and their America.”
Joseph also noted, “Alan found footage that I didn’t know existed. Those moments with Afeni, moments with me in the Panther office and reliving it — every time I see it, it moves me.”
The first three episodes of “Dear Mama” are available on FX and Hulu.
READ MORE: New Teaser Trailer Drops for ‘Dear Mama’ Series About Tupac and His Mother | Video
