The stars of Tupac Shakur biopic ‘All Eyez on Me’ were in London on Tuesday for the film’s European premiere.
A host of British hip-hop stars attended the event as well as renowned radio DJ Tim Westwood, who described Tupac as the ‘greatest of all time’.
The film follows Shakur breaking through into music and his climb to become a global star.
‘All Eyez on Me’ also explores his friendship with fellow rapper Notorious BIG, who he would later fall out with, imprisonment and his work with controversial music mogul Marion ‘Suge’ Knight.
Tupac is played by Demetrius Shipp Jr, who said about the rapper, “The world loves him, you know? He was real. He connected with the people. He was the voice of the people and he spoke to real issues all across the world and his music was just very relatable to all people really in general – it was not just hip-hop, black or white – just to people in general.”
Tupac Shakur’s recording career lasted just five years before he was murdered in 1996 and recently became only the sixth rap act to be voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its 30-year history.
The Hall of Fame described him as “an international symbol of resistance and outlaw spirit, an irresistible contradiction, a definitive rap anti-hero.”
That is a big claim for the Harlem-born son of two Black Panther activists who spent time in jail for assault and released just four albums before being killed at age 25 in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas that has never been resolved.
Shakur has sold 75 million albums, mostly from seven posthumous releases, and although his sales figures will never match those of 21st-century hip-hop kings like Drake, Kanye West and The Weeknd, his influence remains profound.
U.S. actress Kat Graham also stars as Jada Pinkett, who was close friends with Tupac.
Pinkett herself starred in 1996 comedy ‘The Nutty Professor’ and married Will Smith.
“This is also a very sensitive thing. This is not a character, not the ‘Nutty Professor 2’, you know so it’s a little bit different for me and probably one of the more sensitive roles I’ve ever done because this is her life,” said Graham, describing the challenge of playing the role of a living person.
Tupac fans can see ‘All Eyez on Me’ in the UK from Friday (June 30).