2Pac Discusses Moving Away From Music In Resurfaced Interview

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File Photo - Tupac Shakur
American rapper Tupac Shakur on the set of "Above the Rim" in Harlem. (Photo by mark peterson/Corbis via Getty Images)

2Pac discussed shifting his focus from music to acting in a resurfaced interview prior to his death.

2Pac spoke about wanting to distance himself from music and focus on his acting career prior to his death, according to a resurfaced interview with Entertainment Tonight. The outlet shared the rare discussion on Sunday, following the premiere of FX’s Dear Mama docuseries. The show explores the relationship between the legendary rapper and his mother, Afeni Shakur.

For the original interview, 2Pac sat down with the outlet to discuss his role in Gridlock’d. In the film, he stars alongside Tim Roth, Lucy Liu, and Thandie Newton. It was released four months after he was murdered. “To have change in my image, really, number one,” he said when asked what attracted him to the role. “This movie is really about friendship and what unconditional friendship means. I did it basically because it was funny and I’ve never really got to be funny.”

2Pac In "Gridlock'd"

Tupac Shakur in a scene from the film 'Gridlock'd', 1997. (Photo by Gramercy Pictures/Getty Images)

From there, he discussed wanting to star in a rom-com and launching a movie production company. “We got a lot of good things happening,” he said. “If I say it right now, the way my luck has been going, it’ll all fall through … Just give me a month so I can lock it down before I tell everybody. I just want to push the envelope and work, work, work. I want to move further away from the music and start wading myself into the acting more.”

The legendary rapper also discussed how fame and wealth made him feel like a "kid in a candy store" with all the opportunities he had. "[I] got cash, everything you dreamed of, and they've held me back in so many other circumstances that now it's time to go and it's kind of hard to keep [myself] from just pressing the gas down all the way," he explained. "[It's hard] just taking my time and thinking and analyzing situations and trying to think before I do things… But my whole mind state is that if we don't ever go outside of the boundaries, we will never change anything… We'll just keep talking about the people who did it once and told us not to go outside the thing… They're telling me, 'You can't do this. You can only rap and if you rap, you can only rap about this. Then, you can't act. And if you act, you can only do the Black films and you can't be a rapper…' I don't like that. So I try to go outside the boundaries."

As for music, 2Pac explained that his album, All Eyez On Me, was fueled by "emotions," and that he wanted to start releasing music that he found to be more "thought-provoking." He also spoke about being a Gemini and learning from his past mistakes. Check out the full interview below.

2Pac On The Future Of His Career

[Via]

About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.