‘Dear Mama’: Allen Hughes Talks Tupac as a Biblical Figure, Afeni Shakur’s Influence on Her Son, and His Compassion For the Late Rapper (Exclusive)

It’s been nearly 27 years since the death of rapper, actor, and activist, Tupac Shakur. And his name and likeness are even greater than it was during his brief life. Allen Hughes’ new docuseries Dear Mama dives into the personal relationship of mother and son, Afeni and Tupac Shakur. Hughes promises to showcase never-before-seen audio and video footage, and unprecedented interviews with those closest to both Afeni and Tupac.

The five-part docuseries gives a side-by-side account of the mother and son duo’s complex childhoods and how they shaped them into the adults they’d become. Tupac fans are familiar with Afeni’s story as being part of the revolutionary Black Panther Party, serving a prison sentence while pregnant with the icon. She was released just weeks before giving birth in June 1971. And her imprisonment with him in her womb would have a lasting impact on him as an artist and human. It’s the first time the story has been told this way. And Hughes says it was an intentional decision. 

“I think it’s everything [to share a dual story] because what do we really know about Afeni’s journey? And how could we know about Tupac without knowing where he’s from and what he was born into, born out of? And particularly when you know that he was in her womb in the prison for eight months, and he was born one month after she got acquitted of the Panther 21 trial in New York City after representing herself in court,” he told PopCulture.com exclusively. “When I signed in to do this, everyone’s like, “Whoa, we’ve seen a Tupac. Another story about Tupac?” You’re like, well, actually, his story’s never really been told. I’m a storyteller, so I know when someone’s story’s been told, and there’s a bunch of murder documentaries about him, or conspiracy things. And then there was the one that was decent because it was done in his own voice resurrection. And then there’s a debate about the feature film I’m not going to get into. I know the family wasn’t satisfied and they were very happy to hear that my take was to do a multiple-part dual narrative with the two of them.”

No rapper has made the worldwide and multigenerational impact as Tupac has. His ascension was quick, with him solidifying his place in history within just a five-year period until his tragic murder in 1996. The murder has yet to be solved. Within that time, he released four full-length studio albums, starred in seven feature films and two television episodes prior to his death, and was a polarizing and controversial figure known for his poetry and political stance while also having a persona as being misogynistic and stirring up trouble. His triumphs and his flaws are what Hughes says contributes to his legacy.

“You could feel his passion in any language. You wonder when you go around the world, Africa, Asia, South America, Europe, and you see murals everywhere….Mike Tyson talks about it listening to Tupac…But I think the real reason outside of the fact of the poetry and the music, when you look at [songs] like “Brenda’s Got a Baby” and you look at “Dear Mama,” or “So Many Tears,” who performed as a young man writing songs like that, and who after him ever wrote songs like that? So there’s the real meaningful part of his journey and his thoughtful side and his poetic side,” Hughes says. 

He added that Tupac has transcended humanism, making him immortal in a way. “But I think the thing that I realized recently that makes him almost biblical is that you can project whatever you want into him,” he explained. “Unlike any figure from the 20th century, if you want to see a lover, you’ll see a lover. If you want to see a fighter, you see a fighter. If you want to see a saint, you’ll see a saint. If you want to see a sinner, you’ll see a sinner, poet, prophet, whatever you want to see, like the Bible, Tupac will be there for you.”

And it all goes back to Afeni. Tupac adored his mother more than anything, but the docuseries will also examine the ups and downs of their relationship which was marred by extreme financial struggle and Afeni’s drug addiction at times. Still, the education and self-worth she instilled in her son, and the constant urge for him to use his voice and never be silenced, is what he carried with him the most. 

Many wonder how Hughes, who had his own personal run-ins with Tupac, signed on to direct this project. In 1993, Tupac publicly dissed Allen and his brother Albert, after he was fired from Menace II Society. Hughes also worked on several music videos for Tupac, including “Brenda’s Got a Baby” and “Trapped.” After the film incident, the rapper put hands on the brothers and landed an assault charge as a result. The once-close relationship was damaged. And Hughes admits his journey of forgiveness and understanding was a long one, one he didn’t reconcile until confronting it head-on in the series.

“It’s probably the most challenging thing with the film. Not because I was never going to harm him, or his legacy, or as a human being, because I don’t operate out of hate. I operate out of love and wanting to understand, and that’s why I did this project,” he said. “But I kind of muted whatever trauma I had from that incident, and I definitely didn’t want to be a part of the film, that part, maybe in passing someone mentioning it. But my partner and producers kept going, “No, you got to deal with this.” So eventually, he gave in, and out of that, he says he formed a different opinion of Tupac from that specific incident.

“There was a misunderstanding there, but when you have those young boys, those highly charged egos, a lot got lost in a translation. And he was having a hard time adjusting to fame, I think, as well, and those responsibilities,” he reflects. “So there was the toughest thing in this piece outside of… By the way, all of it was tough. But I’ve come to have a lot of compassion for him that I don’t think I had before.”

Dear Mama premieres on April 21. Episodes will be available to stream the next day on Hulu. Watch the full 20-minute interview with Hughes on PopCulture.com’s YouTube channel where he discusses more about Tupac and Afeni’s legacies, the duality of Tupac’s personality and music, takeaways from the film, and more.