Just when it seems like there are no more new 2Pac stories to tell, FX has released the teaser trailer for its upcoming docuseries, Dear Mama.
According to Complex, the five-episode project is “told through the eyes of the people who knew them best,” and focuses on the dynamic relationship between Tupac and Afeni Shakur. Directed by Allen Hughes (The Book of Eli), the doc will be released on FX in the fall with episodes streaming on Hulu the day after they air.
Set to the soundtrack of 2Pac’s hit “Dear Mama,” the 47-second trailer features a voiceover of Afeni explaining the lesson she would teach Tupac whenever he made a mistake.
“It was my responsibility to teach Tupac how to survive his reality,” she says. “So, Tupac do something wrong, take your little sorry self in that corner, get the New York Times and let’s have a debate about it. Not a discussion, a debate. Let me hear what your idea is, stand up, defend it.”
From The New York Times Presents to Pride to Hysterical, FX does a really good job with docuseries. So there’s no reason to expect the network won’t show 2Pac and Afeni the same care and respect. This sounds like a fascinating project that will show a different side to a mother and son we think we know everything about. Perhaps we’ll get first-hand accounts of how Afeni’s past as a member of the Black Panther Party influenced the honest, revolutionary lyrics of her son’s music.
As previously reported by The Root, Afeni’s biographer, Jasmine Guy, is developing the biopic Peace, Love & Respect: The Afeni Shakur/Panther 21 Story based on her experiences as one of the Panther 21. The film takes place “from April 2, 1969, when she and 20 other Black Panthers were arrested and charged with conspiracy to bomb police stations in New York, through June 16, 1971, the day Tupac was born.”
As much as the world loves Tupac and his music, the more stories we get about Afeni the better. She had a fascinating life story as a civil rights activist, Black Panther Party member and mother of a legend.