The documentary series Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni & Tupac Shakur, which was directed by Allen Hughes and debuted on Hulu back in April, has drawn the ire of 2Pac’s biological father, who has made his feelings known.
Billy Garland discussed his initial reluctance to speak with Allen Hughes in a sit-down interview about 2Pac with The Art Of Dialogue on Saturday (June 3), saying that he eventually convinced him to do so even though he was unaware that the actual tape would be used for Dear Mama.
Garland stated, “We conducted an interview for about two hours. “Let’s just say that I was a little let down after watching the interview in the documentary. I did not enjoy it. If you get what I mean, it was more about something else than it was about 2Pac. I might not have done it if I had known it was about “Dear Mama,” but I doubt I would have. Not without purpose.
After that, Billy Garland defended 2Pac against Allen Hughes, who had previously called him a “delusional mythmaker” before the documentary was created. Garland added that 2Pac wasn’t “bi-polar,” rather he was acting out because “people were betraying him” during the course of his musical triumph.
Billy Garland did not enjoy the final product of the documentary, but critics recently gave the five-part docuseries a pristine 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, after the FX series had already broken TV records.
When the new perfect score was presented earlier this month, critics from TIME, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter praised the director Allen Hughes for taking a compassionate approach to 2Pac’s legacy.
TIME called it “one of the most comprehensive, sensitive portraits I’ve seen of an artist who has by this point been lauded for longer than he was alive.” “And of the extraordinary mother who gave birth to him.
The documentary series focuses on the mother-son bond between 2Pac Shakur and Afeni Shakur, a revolutionary and Black Panther Party member. In FX’s 28-year history, it was the most watched debut episode of an unscripted series.
“It’s only fitting that Allen Hughes definitive piece on Tupac and Afeni Shakur delivered a record performance for us and it speaks to Tupac’s enduring legacy,” said Nick Grad, president of FX Entertainment. Allen’s analysis of Tupac via the lens of his mother Afeni is a unique perspective that really digs beyond the education and experience that shaped his childhood and gave him the inspiration to become one of the greatest artists ever.
