The director talks about Tupac's legacy and the influence of feminism on the documentary series

In early April, "Dear Mama" was named one of the Grammy nominees for Best Musical. It's a rare occurrence when a potential winner is also nominated for other entertainment awards, such as the Emmys. Owned by FX and Hulu in 2023, the work was met with much excitement, with everyone who saw it pushing for the film to be recognized, and possibly win awards.

Director and producer Allen Hughes was very happy with the project, even though he initially had no intention of filming the series. Hughes stated that he agreed to do the documentary series because he was personally asked to do so by Tupac's heirs, knowing that he and the rapper had a shared history. Hughes was nervous, but then presented his idea of creating a dual story about Tupac and his mother, Afeni Shakur. This approach proved invaluable and gave new coverage of one of the most talked about musicians of the last few decades.

The entire series is presented as five episodes and shows the stories of Tupac and his mother side by side, in roughly equal measure.

In an interview, Allen Hughes talked about creating the Dear Mama series and the unusual angle from which he views Tupac's story. He noted that the series is not a conventional music documentary and does not focus on music per se. It focuses on the emotional journey Tupac went through and delves into his relationship with his mother. Hughes also discussed the use of music and orchestration to emphasize emotional moments and put the focus on Tupac's lyrics.

He also emphasized that it is important for him to understand and overcome misconceptions about Tupac, especially as it relates to his character and personality. Hughes noted that Tupac was not only a rapper, but also an artist, performance artist and actor, and that his image has often been wrongly misrepresented in public opinion. He sought to tell the multifaceted aspects of Tupac and show that he was an extraordinarily talented and interesting person.