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‘All Eyez On Me’ Star Reveals His Favourite Tupac Song

‘All Eyez On Me’ Star Reveals His Favourite Tupac Song

Demetrius Shipp Jr told LADbible about his love for the rapper.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Demetrius Shipp Jr bares an incredible likeness to the infamous rapper who was gunned down in Las Vegas in 1996. But it's not just important to look the part if you're going to star in a movie about one of the most legendary and game changing rappers of all time; you have to know the man inside and out.

Luckily for the 28-year-old, he was already a big fan of Tupac. He first fell in love with the rapper when he was just eight, when he heard the song 'Toss It Up' after it was released in 1996.

He actually has a connection to Tupac Shakur - his dad worked as a music producer with L.T Hutton, who is one of three people who produced All Eyez On Me .

Hutton recalls back in 2011, an assistant telling him, 'I don't know how to tell you this but, Tupac is in the lobby'. At first, he didn't believe her but when he stepped out of his office he couldn't believe his eyes.

While some people would be hesitant to recruit someone with no acting experience to take on such a large role, Hutton says: "I knew from his background and upbringing that Demetrius had the makings of becoming Tupac all the way.

"If I'd cast any one of the actors Hollywood was pushing me to use, people would have spent the first hour of the movie wondering, 'Why is this guy trying to be Tupac?'.

Credit: Summit Entertainment

"It would have taken you out of the film. For our message to land, we had to have someone on the screen where you're locked in from the start. Demetrius had a certain spirit that these other guys just didn't have."

So he had the look, but now he had to become Tupac.

Shipp told LADbible that he read every book he could on the rapper, as well as material that inspired Shakur, such as a documentary titled The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution.

"There's a great deal of information that I found out about Tupac. He was just a well-rounded, deep-layered person and everything came from a place with him," says Demetrius.

"He is a direct reflection of his mother, of Afeni Shakur, that passion, that fire that activism, that leadership, that was something that he was groomed to be and it was something that he learned. He's very layered, he's much more than just a rapper, much more than just a guy who was known for certain things.

"He was a man who was a leader that had strong beliefs and stood for them. Not just for himself or for black people but for people in general."

Demetrius Shipp as Tupac
Demetrius Shipp as Tupac

Credit: Summit Entertainment

As a part of his research, the actor tried to recreate his mannerisms, his speech, his gesticulations. Four years after being introduced to L.T. Hutton, Shipp Jr was officially cast for the movie. Was he nervous about taking on such a huge cultural character?

"No, not really. I worked for the moment and I was ready to take on the task because I told myself I could do it. It was in 2015 when I started to believe in myself and my ability to get the role and do it justice if given the opportunity," says Demetrius.

He adds: "We have to honour him and do it the right way and it's an honour and a privilege to play someone so prolific and so loved throughout the world."

Being a fan of Tupac since the tender age of eight means that Demetrius must have a favourite song, right? He says 'Dear Mama' is by far the best: "It's just a song that always makes you feel. When you hear it, you think about your mother. The song kind of resonates with you."

It was released in 1995 on the legendary album Me Against The World. It's a harrowing account of his growing up in poverty as well as his mum's addiction to crack cocaine.

Not only is it considered one of Shakur's best songs, it was added to the National Recording Registry in 2010 for being 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or informative or reflective of life in the United States."

It features lyrics like: "And even as a crack fiend, mama/You always was a black queen, mama," and: "A poor single mother on welfare, tell me how ya did it/There's no way I can pay you back."

Tupac wrote the song just before he was sent to prison and it's even influenced the likes of Eminem, Common and Kendrick Lamar.

All Eyez On Me has already been released in the US, but will premiere in the UK and Ireland on June 30.

Featured Image Credit: PA