Director Allen Hughes Explains Why He Made Tupac Documentary After the Rapper Assaulted Him in 1993

Dear Mama, a docuseries about Tupac's life and career through his mother's story, premieres Friday on FX

Allen Hughes, the director behind Dear Mama, a docuseries about Tupac's life and career through his mother's story, is opening up about how he became involved in the project after the late rapper attacked him as a teen.

In light of the docuseries premiering on Friday, Hughes spoke to AP about how the fight went down in 1993, how he got over it — and when he knew he made the "right decision" to take the project on.

That day, the legendary rapper (born Tupac Amaru Shakur) assaulted Hughes with nearly a dozen gang members after he was fired from the cult classic "Menace II Society." At the time, Hughes had a friendly relationship with Shakur — who died in September 1996 at age 25 — and even directed his music video for "Brenda's Got a Baby."

Related:Will.i.am Says Tupac and Biggie's Music 'Don't Speak' to 'Spirit': 'I Don't Hold Them Up Like That'

"I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it because of obvious personal reasons," Hughes told the outlet of the moment he was approached by the estate to take on the project. "But once I realized that there wasn't enough about Tupac that I didn't realize, it might be better to explore him through his mother and make it a dual narrative. The estate and family were down with that."

Hughes said it took him "a few years to get over it." And though he did receive a public apology from the "All Eyez on Me" rapper, he wasn't ready to accept it at the time.

"I wish I was man enough to have connected with him at the time. I've since seen all the audio visuals with him saying he was remorseful about it, which I never knew existed," he said. "But we were kids. We were all 19 when that happened."

He continued, "No, you should never take it to the level of violence, whatever the misunderstanding is. But I've been in fist fights with my brother and recovered. Tupac loved hard. When he got angry, it was hard. I think maybe with the trauma from being completely obliterated by 10-15 guys, it just took a lot."

The filmmaker also reflected on the moment he knew this was the right move.

"I was standing on Malibu Beach and I'm walking. That's when it happened," he said.

"In the meeting, when I went back to accept the assignment, one of the people from the estate slid an address in a piece of paper over to me. I'm like, 'What is this?' And they go, 'Your address is yards away from where we put Tupac's ashes.' That's when I got goosebumps. That's when I definitely knew I made the right decision."

Watch the five-part docuseries — which draws parallels to Shakur's career as a hip-hop icon and his mother's activism — Friday on FX. It will be available to stream on Hulu the following day.

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