Tupac Shakur (Lasane Parish Cooks), son of Afeni (Alice Faye Williams), was born in Harlem. But he grew up to become an icon, hip-hop legend, activist, and consummate artist with a worldwide impact. He had a vision that fueled his purpose. And he immersed himself in the talents that would help him fulfill them. As NPR notes, “contradictions, complexities and all — he left behind something that has touched generations of people.”

Tupac Shakur didn’t reach his level of success overnight. He was talented, but even more, he was a student of life. And he used those life experiences as inspiration for his work. His ability to thoroughly pour himself into his craft with abandon solidified him as a meteoric talent on stage and screen. On-screen, he proved himself as an authentic artist with incomparable skill. His most notable film credits include Juice, Poetic Justice, and Jason’s Lyric. And behind the mic, he showed himself as a master lyricist and modern philosopher. Some of his most outstanding hip-hop singles include Keep Your Head Up, All Eyez on Me, and Dear Mama. Dear Mama was a 1995 selection from Me Against the World, the third of Tupac’s studio albums.

Dear Mama was written as a song dedicated to Afeni. It spoke of the adoration and appreciation Tupac had for his mother. It remains an immortal bouquet of the loveliest flowers nurtured through lyricism. Unfortunately, however, Tupac’s life was cut short. He only lived to see 25 preceding his mother in death. Afeni died in 2016 at the age of 69. But their legacies are alive. Here is everything we know about Dear Mama.

Dear Mama: The Plot

Dear Mama is about the lives and legacies of Tupac and Afeni. FX touts it as a close, upfront, and personal account. This stems from the greater accessibility to exclusive materials, which will contribute to a more accurate narrative of depth. In an interview with Deadline, Hughes confirmed that the first episode sets the stage. After that, the series plunges to conceptual depth. Then, as Hughes further relays to Deadline, “It becomes a musical odyssey and gets into the psychology…” of what is undoubtedly Tupac’s art and what drove him.

Dear Mama is a five-part series classified as a documentary but defined as a uniquely different offering from typical documentaries. According to FX Networks, “The deeply personal five-part series will defy the conventions of a traditional documentary. Instead, this series is created to be both an informational and educational feature and an experience of sight and sound. And ultimately, it is brought forth as a piece wherein many may discover who Tupac and Afeni were in body, spirit, and soul.”

Dear Mama: The Crew

     Ron Galella

Both Afeni and Tupac were massive contributors to their communities and the world. And famed director Allen Hughes has chosen to honor their legacy through a series entitled Dear Mama. According to an interview with Deadline, Allen Hughes took on the project per the request of the Shakur family and estate. Initially, he had no desire to take on the work for a few reasons. But it blossomed into so much more than the fulfillment of a request. For Hughes, It fulfilled a personal desire. He began to look at the project as an exploration piece, a chance for him to discover the authentic Tupac. Deadline cites that “Hughes wanted to find the meaning in his [Tupac’s]journey.”

As demonstrated in his earlier works, the true crime film Good Fellas, the drama Menace II Society, the action-adventure Book of Eli, and the miniseries The Defiant Ones, Allen Hughes showed an incredible gift for story-telling. Thus, it is not hard to see how Dear Mama is a must-see, especially for fans of Tupac and Hughes’ work​​​​​​.

Release Date

Dear Mama will premiere on FX on April 21. Two episodes will be available upon release. Subsequent episodes will air every Friday after that at 10:00pm. The series will also be available for streaming on Hulu the day after release.

Everything Else We Know

     Columbia Pictures

Hughes’s initially intended to name the series Outlaw but later changed it to, Dear Mama. The new title resounded more with the story he wished to frame. This is also confirmed in the conversation Hughes has with Deadline. The documentary’s name, which now aligns with the late artists’ song, is a loving tribute.

So for those who want to know more about Tupac and Afeni and the legacies they built, don’t forget to tune in.