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Interview With Afeni Shakur

Aired November 24, 2003 - 15:11   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: For fans of the late rapper Tupac Shakur, he was seen as the John Lennon of his generation. Shakur's poignant rhymes about life, love and death resonated with listeners. And now, seven years after his violent death, the hip-hop star narrates his life in a big screen documentary, "Tupac Resurrection."
I recently sat down with his mother, Afeni Shakur, to talk about the film and her complex son.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Thanks very much, Afeni, for being with us. We really appreciate it.

AFENI SHAKUR, MOTHER OF TUPAC SHAKUR: Oh, I really appreciate you for having me. Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Tell us about the origins of this film. Where did the idea come from? And how has the project been for you being a part of it?

SHAKUR: It's been really incredible, first, because I've learned so much about the industry and the process of making a film. So that's been really interesting. But aside from that, we started about five years ago, five, six years ago wanting to do this project.

A lot of people came and had ideas for a documentary. MTV came to us with the idea that we were in sync with, which was Tupac being allowed to tell his own story. So it's been a really wonderful journey with them.

O'BRIEN: You had an astounding amount of raw material to work with. He was prolific, wasn't he?

SHAKUR: He was prolific. He was. He really was.

O'BRIEN: Wow. It's pretty incredible that you've -- I mean, multiple albums have been released since his passing. And now this documentary. Going through it all, is it painful?

SHAKUR: Actually, it's not painful because I try and keep it all in context. First of all, a lot of people, a lot of women and men, have lost their children. I'm not the only one. But I happen to be blessed that my son gave me all these things to work with so that I get to work out my grief in a way that other people are not able to. So I can't possibly be downtrodden about that.

O'BRIEN: So it's a way to channel the sadness for you?

SHAKUR: The sadness and the anger. And, you know, any of those things that are basically nonproductive and noncreative.

O'BRIEN: Now, in the documentary, he talks about you a little bit. And your history is an interesting one. You were a former Black Panther.

SHAKUR: Absolutely.

O'BRIEN: Tupac was born while you were in prison.

SHAKUR: He was born one month and three days after we were acquitted.

O'BRIEN: After you were acquitted. He makes some reference to you in the movie. He's speaking to you, isn't he?

SHAKUR: A lot.

O'BRIEN: Let's listen to it for just a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUPAC SHAKUR, FMR. RAP ARTIST: She had a high position in the Panther Party which was like unheard of, because of course there was sexism even in the Panthers. The person that supported me the most was my mother. My mom is the bomb. The world's best mom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: It must be wonderful to hear that.

A. SHAKUR: It is.

O'BRIEN: Any mother, any parent would want to hear it.

A. SHAKUR: It really is. I'm grateful my son was -- as any mother would say, I had a very good son. You know?

O'BRIEN: Was he a good son to you?

A. SHAKUR: He was a good son to me every day.

O'BRIEN: Now, he was really kind of a preeminent voice of urban America. Why? What was he able -- what chord was he able to strike?

A. SHAKUR: I think what it was is that Tupac was extremely passionate, very honest and raw in his approach to communicating. He understood communicating. And I think he just did it from a deep place within.

O'BRIEN: He talks in this also about friendships that he's made over the years. There's a clip in there which addresses some of those issues. Let's listen to it for just a moment.

A. SHAKUR: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

T. SHAKUR: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), she helped me. She was real cool. Like any one of my homeboys.

Jada Pinkett, Jada is my heart. You know what I mean? She will be my friend for my whole life.

She can have my one heart, my liver, my lungs, my kidneys, my blood, marrow, all that. We'll be old together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: That's something. That's quite a statement there. Was that over the top, or was that Tupac?

A. SHAKUR: No, that's Tupac. That's absolutely Tupac.

O'BRIEN: Yes? Really? And was he really that loyal to all of his friends...

A. SHAKUR: Oh, my god, that is exactly why. For instance, I believe that the quality of this film has a lot to do with the quality of his friendships. People, his friends, helped. They helped because they are as loyal to him as he was to them.

O'BRIEN: His tragic and violent end, now it's hard to believe it's been seven years.

A. SHAKUR: Seven years.

O'BRIEN: Part of a terrible East Coast-West Coast rift between hip-hop artists. Has the industry changed? Has it sort of realized that its ways were wrong?

A. SHAKUR: First of all, I have to tell you that I have no -- I can't blame the industry. I don't see that the hip-hop industry has any more blame than any other part of the industry. And so I think we all have to equally be responsible for our actions. But as it relates to the industry, I do think that the industry has gone -- come a long way as a result of all these tragedies.

O'BRIEN: Do you -- as you watch this documentary, do you see your imprint and your past as a Black Panther, among other things, sort of speaking through Tupac in some way?

A. SHAKUR: In some ways I do. But I also understand that I am his mother. And to a large extent, I feel as though Tupac came into this world carrying my Black Panther Party past as his baggage. So in some ways I feel good, in other ways I feel a little sad that he had to carry it.

O'BRIEN: Are you on a mission to finish his work?

A. SHAKUR: I'm on a mission to finishing his work. Yes, I am. O'BRIEN: It's been an incredible success, though. Is that the goal?

A. SHAKUR: No. The goal is to allow his work to be seen. That is the goal. Just that, because he was killed at 25, I believe that he had a right to have his work seen. And that's what my goal is.

O'BRIEN: That's a labor of love.

A. SHAKUR: Yes, it is. Absolutely love.

O'BRIEN: Afeni Shakur, thanks so much for being with us.

A. SHAKUR: Thank you so very much for having me. I appreciate it.

O'BRIEN: It's our pleasure. "Tupac Resurrection" playing in theaters right now.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 24, 2003 - 15:11   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: For fans of the late rapper Tupac Shakur, he was seen as the John Lennon of his generation. Shakur's poignant rhymes about life, love and death resonated with listeners. And now, seven years after his violent death, the hip-hop star narrates his life in a big screen documentary, "Tupac Resurrection."
I recently sat down with his mother, Afeni Shakur, to talk about the film and her complex son.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Thanks very much, Afeni, for being with us. We really appreciate it.

AFENI SHAKUR, MOTHER OF TUPAC SHAKUR: Oh, I really appreciate you for having me. Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Tell us about the origins of this film. Where did the idea come from? And how has the project been for you being a part of it?

SHAKUR: It's been really incredible, first, because I've learned so much about the industry and the process of making a film. So that's been really interesting. But aside from that, we started about five years ago, five, six years ago wanting to do this project.

A lot of people came and had ideas for a documentary. MTV came to us with the idea that we were in sync with, which was Tupac being allowed to tell his own story. So it's been a really wonderful journey with them.

O'BRIEN: You had an astounding amount of raw material to work with. He was prolific, wasn't he?

SHAKUR: He was prolific. He was. He really was.

O'BRIEN: Wow. It's pretty incredible that you've -- I mean, multiple albums have been released since his passing. And now this documentary. Going through it all, is it painful?

SHAKUR: Actually, it's not painful because I try and keep it all in context. First of all, a lot of people, a lot of women and men, have lost their children. I'm not the only one. But I happen to be blessed that my son gave me all these things to work with so that I get to work out my grief in a way that other people are not able to. So I can't possibly be downtrodden about that.

O'BRIEN: So it's a way to channel the sadness for you?

SHAKUR: The sadness and the anger. And, you know, any of those things that are basically nonproductive and noncreative.

O'BRIEN: Now, in the documentary, he talks about you a little bit. And your history is an interesting one. You were a former Black Panther.

SHAKUR: Absolutely.

O'BRIEN: Tupac was born while you were in prison.

SHAKUR: He was born one month and three days after we were acquitted.

O'BRIEN: After you were acquitted. He makes some reference to you in the movie. He's speaking to you, isn't he?

SHAKUR: A lot.

O'BRIEN: Let's listen to it for just a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUPAC SHAKUR, FMR. RAP ARTIST: She had a high position in the Panther Party which was like unheard of, because of course there was sexism even in the Panthers. The person that supported me the most was my mother. My mom is the bomb. The world's best mom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: It must be wonderful to hear that.

A. SHAKUR: It is.

O'BRIEN: Any mother, any parent would want to hear it.

A. SHAKUR: It really is. I'm grateful my son was -- as any mother would say, I had a very good son. You know?

O'BRIEN: Was he a good son to you?

A. SHAKUR: He was a good son to me every day.

O'BRIEN: Now, he was really kind of a preeminent voice of urban America. Why? What was he able -- what chord was he able to strike?

A. SHAKUR: I think what it was is that Tupac was extremely passionate, very honest and raw in his approach to communicating. He understood communicating. And I think he just did it from a deep place within.

O'BRIEN: He talks in this also about friendships that he's made over the years. There's a clip in there which addresses some of those issues. Let's listen to it for just a moment.

A. SHAKUR: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

T. SHAKUR: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), she helped me. She was real cool. Like any one of my homeboys.

Jada Pinkett, Jada is my heart. You know what I mean? She will be my friend for my whole life.

She can have my one heart, my liver, my lungs, my kidneys, my blood, marrow, all that. We'll be old together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: That's something. That's quite a statement there. Was that over the top, or was that Tupac?

A. SHAKUR: No, that's Tupac. That's absolutely Tupac.

O'BRIEN: Yes? Really? And was he really that loyal to all of his friends...

A. SHAKUR: Oh, my god, that is exactly why. For instance, I believe that the quality of this film has a lot to do with the quality of his friendships. People, his friends, helped. They helped because they are as loyal to him as he was to them.

O'BRIEN: His tragic and violent end, now it's hard to believe it's been seven years.

A. SHAKUR: Seven years.

O'BRIEN: Part of a terrible East Coast-West Coast rift between hip-hop artists. Has the industry changed? Has it sort of realized that its ways were wrong?

A. SHAKUR: First of all, I have to tell you that I have no -- I can't blame the industry. I don't see that the hip-hop industry has any more blame than any other part of the industry. And so I think we all have to equally be responsible for our actions. But as it relates to the industry, I do think that the industry has gone -- come a long way as a result of all these tragedies.

O'BRIEN: Do you -- as you watch this documentary, do you see your imprint and your past as a Black Panther, among other things, sort of speaking through Tupac in some way?

A. SHAKUR: In some ways I do. But I also understand that I am his mother. And to a large extent, I feel as though Tupac came into this world carrying my Black Panther Party past as his baggage. So in some ways I feel good, in other ways I feel a little sad that he had to carry it.

O'BRIEN: Are you on a mission to finish his work?

A. SHAKUR: I'm on a mission to finishing his work. Yes, I am. O'BRIEN: It's been an incredible success, though. Is that the goal?

A. SHAKUR: No. The goal is to allow his work to be seen. That is the goal. Just that, because he was killed at 25, I believe that he had a right to have his work seen. And that's what my goal is.

O'BRIEN: That's a labor of love.

A. SHAKUR: Yes, it is. Absolutely love.

O'BRIEN: Afeni Shakur, thanks so much for being with us.

A. SHAKUR: Thank you so very much for having me. I appreciate it.

O'BRIEN: It's our pleasure. "Tupac Resurrection" playing in theaters right now.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com