Academy Award winning director, Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) has been tapped to direct and authorized biography on Tupac Shakur.

With his recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and pending biopic, All Eyez On Me set to hit theaters on what would have been his 46th birthday, June 16, there's been a lot of focus on Pac and his enduring legacy as of late. News of the pending documentary should only heighten the discussion.

The documentary was sanctioned by Pac's estate and Nigel Sinclair‘s White Horse Pictures and Jayson Jackson (What's Happened, Miss Simone?) are set to produce the film.

“I am extremely moved and excited to be exploring the life and times of this legendary artist,” Steve McQueen said in a press release. “I attended NYU film school in 1993 and can remember the unfolding hip-hop world and mine overlapping with Tupac’s through a mutual friend in a small way. Few, if any shined brighter than Tupac Shakur. I look forward to working closely with his family to tell the unvarnished story of this talented man.”

Interscope Records and Universal Music Publishing Group, the companies with the bulk of Pac's catalog are reportedly providing full support to the documentary.

“Tupac’s timeless message resonates today as strongly as it did when I first discovered him in 1990, possibly more so,” Tom Whalley, the trustee of the Shakur Estate said in a press release. “His legacy is unfortunately seen now through the refraction of the headlines, the controversy, and the tragic way his life ended. We will show the artist and the young man who existed beyond the news.”

There's no word on will the documentary is slated for release.

 

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