Veteran filmmaker Allen Hughes was behind the camera for FX’s Dear Mama. The five-part documentary explored the relationship between Hip-Hop icon Tupac “2Pac” Shakur and his mother Afeni Shakur.
Allen Hughes served as Dear Mama‘s executive producer, writer and director. While both 2Pac and Afeni Shakur passed away, the Shakur Estate approved the docuseries and provided the production with access to Pac’s creative work.
In a new interview with Spin magazine, Allen Hughes reflected on his experience filming Dear Mama. The creative force behind motion pictures such as Menace II Society and Dead Presidents also gave his own interpretation of 2Pac’s artistry.
“The thing that I discovered on Dear Mama was he truly is an artist. He’s a poet. He don’t see the world the way normal people see the world. He don’t see danger the way normal people see danger,” offered Hughes about 2Pac.
In addition, he said, “I got in trouble with the [Shakur] family when I said this, but pure artists are delusional. Yeah. That’s part of what makes them great artists: they’re delusional. They’re sharing their delusions with us. But they don’t think they’re delusions: it’s real to them.”
“So they don’t see the reality of things. They see the dream of it all. They’re living in a dream. That’s part of what made him so special. Tupac was subjecting us to his fantasies, but they weren’t fantasies to him,” stated Allen Hughes.
Dear Mama received two nominations for the upcoming 75th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards – Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Series and Outstanding Writing For A Nonfiction Program. Allen Hughes was recognized in both categories.
