Hip-hop fans are hoping “All Eyez on Me,” the upcoming film about rapper Tupac Shakur’s life, will go where the N.W.A. biopic “Straight Outta Compton” was unable to, and crack the Academy’s nomination committee. (After widespread critical acclaim, 2015’s “Compton” secured a single nomination for best original screenplay.)
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Starring newcomer Demetrius Shipp Jr. as the West Coast rapper who was gunned down in 1996 at the height of a wildly successful career, the trailer touches on the artist’s popularity, his run-ins with law enforcement, and alludes to his eventual demise.
Danai Gurira (“The Walking Dead”), playing his mother, Afeni Shakur, narrates the first look at the anticipated film. “Like all black men, you have a bullseye on your back,” she says between echoing lyrics from “Ambitionz Az a Ridah,” released on his fifth album the same year 2pac was killed. “They are going to give you the tools you need to destroy yourself. So above all else, to thine own self be true.”
This isn’t the first time the entertainment industry has revisited Tupac’s life and music for a 21st century audience. In 2003, a documentary was released on the revolutionary rapper. And Kenny Leon directed “Holler if Ya Hear Me” in 2014, the flop stage musical starring Tony nominees Saycon Sengbloh (“Eclipsed”), Christopher Jackson (“Hamilton”), and Saul Williams.
“All Eyez on Me” is poised to resonate especially strongly with audiences in the wake of the #BlackLivesMatter movement and #OscarSoWhite. Directed by Benny Boom, the film shares a name with the artist’s last album before his death and also stars Dominic L. Santana as Suge Knight, Jamal Woolard as Brooklyn rapper and rival Biggie Smalls, Kat Graham as Jada Pinkett, and Grace Gibson as Faith Evans. A release date is yet to be set. Watch the full trailer below.
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