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If there ever was a director to exceptionally capture the trials and tribulations of late rapper Tupac Shakur, it’s 12 Years A Slave’s Steve McQueen. Authorised by Shakur’s estate and his mother Afeni, McQueen will work with them to produce a fully authorised posthumous documentary which remains untitled at this stage.
“I am extremely moved and excited to be exploring the life and times of this legendary artist,” McQueen said. “I attended NYU film school in 1993 and can remember the unfolding hip-hop world and mine overlapping with Tupac’s through a mutual friend in a small way. Few, if any shined brighter than Tupac Shakur. I look forward to working closely with his family to tell the unvarnished story of this talented man.” The documentary will explore the rapper’s rise from roadie to unprecedented international success where he was named one of the greatest and most influential artists of all time by Rolling Stone and his imprisonment. His music revolutionised the hip-hop scene (and simultaneously got him into trouble with fellow rappers), and reflected that of the hard neighbourhoods, crime and racism experienced in 80s and 90s urban America. Shakur was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting on a street in Las Vegas in 1996.
Also slated for release in the United States on June 16 (what would have been Shakur’s 46th birthday), is another biopic titled All Eyez On Me. There is also another project in the works titled 2Pac: Assassination: Battle For Compton.
