allen hughes Archives - New Hip Hop News

Allen Hughes Praises 2Pac For His “Female-Centric” Songs

January 5, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Allen Hughes has praised 2Pac as a pioneer of “female-centric songs” from male artists in the rap community. “Brenda’s Got A Baby” came out when he was 20. He wrote it when he was 18. To this day, point me to one male rapper who ever consistently wrote female centric songs. When you look at ‘Brenda’s Got A Baby,’ what makes it unique is it’s one long verse. It’s storytelling at its finest. He’s singular in that he’s got like eight to 10 songs that embody a female perspective, experience, disposition, heart or mind—and that’s the thing he had. If you knew him behind closed doors, you’d see other sides of him that were almost demure and soft, and they’re always very sweet. He was really in touch with his feminine side,” Hughes told Hits DailyDouble last month.

Furthermore, Hughes said never Pac never lost that edge. “Even when we start talking about toxic masculinity and maybe the trap he may have fell into later, he wasn’t afraid to cry, he wasn’t afraid to be sensitive or write poetry. And by the way, he was always reading. He always had a book in his hand. To Hip-Hop at the time, that was like kryptonite ’cause who reads?” Hughes added.

Allen Hughes Calls 2Pac “Delusional” But A “True Artist”

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 25: American rapper, songwriter, and actor (1971-1996) Tupac Shakur poses for a portrait during the 1994 Source Awards on April 25, 1994 at the Paramount Theatre in New York, New York. (Photo by Bob Berg/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, in August 2023, Hughes called “delusional” but a “true artist”. “The thing that I discovered on Dear Mama was he truly is an artist. He’s a poet. He don’t see the world the way normal people see the world. He don’t see danger the way normal people see danger,” he began.

“I got in trouble with the [Shakur] family when I said this, but pure artists are delusional. Yeah. That’s part of what makes them great artists: they’re delusional. They’re sharing their delusions with us. But they don’t think they’re delusions: it’s real to them. So they don’t see the reality of things. They see the dream of it all. They’re living in a dream. That’s part of what made him so special. Tupac was subjecting us to his fantasies, but they weren’t fantasies to him,” he continued.

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Former Outlawz Rapper, Napoleon, Says Snoop Dogg Is Disrespectful To 2Pac

October 10, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Napolean, a former rapper for Outlawz, says Snoop Dogg takes subtle digs at 2Pac when he discusses the late rapper. Speaking during an interview with The Art of Dialogue, Napolean explained how Allen Hughes and Snoop both make themselves look better while praising Pac.

“Some of these individuals, they very slick,” he began. “You have the Hughes brothers, you have certain individuals like Snoop, for example — they have a way where they acting like they praising Pac, but they[‘re] putting him down. Like [Allen Hughes] said, ‘[Snoop] dimmed his light for Pac to shine.’ They do it in such a slick way so you can be like, ‘Oh wow, he’s not a hater.’”

Snoop Dogg Speaks At 2Pac’s Posthumous Hall Of Fame Induction

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 07: Presenter Snoop Dogg speaks about 2017 Inductee Tupac Shakur onstage at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on April 7, 2017 in New York City. Debuting on HBO Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 8:00 pm ET/PT (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

Allen Hughes is currently working on a biopic of Snoop Dogg. The comments referenced by Napoleon stem from an interview Hughes did with the Rap Radar Podcast, in which he explained how Snoop was one of the biggest stars during the 1990s. “You got a guy [Snoop] that was the rockstar of that era,” Hughes said. “And in the same era, he’s on trial for murder… and thank God, [he] beats the case. And then you got all that little window where Snoop dimmed his light for 2Pac. I never understood that back then. I remember Snoop just dimming his light and letting 2Pac shine when Snoop was the guy, y’know?” Check out Napoleon’s recent comments on Snoop Dogg and Allen Hughs below.

Napoleon Calls Out Snoop Dogg

Hughes previously worked on the docuseries, Dear Mama, which released earlier this year. It followed 2Pac’s mother, Afeni Shakur. Be on the lookout for further updates on his biopic for Snoop Dogg on HotNewHipHop.

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Allen Hughes Says Snoop Dogg “Dimmed His Light” To Let Tupac “Shine”

September 19, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Snoop Dogg is going to be the star of an upcoming film helmed by director Allen Hughes. The biopic on Snoop’s life is set to be the first project under Death Row Pictures, and Snoop is also credited as one of the executive producers of the movie. The film follows Snoop’s recent acquirement of Death Row Records in 2022. In a recent conversation on the Rap Radar Podcast, Hughes explains how he has a distinctive insight into Snoop Dogg’s connection with Tupac. He claimed that Snoop Dogg, even though he was one of the prominent figures in hip-hop during his time at Death Row Records, willingly let his labelmate Tupac shine.

“You got a guy that was the rockstar of that era,” Hughes said in the interview. “And in the same era, he’s on trial for murder … and thank God, [he] beats the case. And then you got all that little window where Snoop dimmed his light for Tupac.” “I never understood that back then,” he continued. “I remember Snoop just dimming his light and letting Tupac shine when Snoop was the guy, ya know?”

Allen Hughes Speaks On Upcoming Snoop Dogg Biopic

Allen Hughes, who’s known for his other films Menace II Society and The Book of Eli, is no stranger to making films for the big screen. His previous credits include telling the stories of other hip-hop moguls, including Tupac. In fact, earlier this year he released the docuseries Dear Mama, which received tons of praise for telling the story of Tupac and his mother Afeni. The docuseries, which premiered on FX and Hulu, earned a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The unscripted series showcased the relationship between Tupac and his mom, but also took a deep dive into Afeni’s profound history as a Black Panther.

Now, Snoop Dogg’s story is one step closer to landing on the big screen. The project is still untitled and in the works, and it’s in collaboration with Death Row Pictures and Universal Pictures. “I waited a long time to put this project together because I wanted to choose the right director, the perfect writer, and the greatest movie company I could partner with that could understand the legacy that I’m trying to portray on screen, and the memory I’m trying to leave behind,” said Snoop Dogg in a previous statement. “It was the perfect marriage. It was holy matrimony, not holy macaroni.” Stay tuned to HNHH for more updates on the biopic.

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Allen Hughes Knew Tupac Would Be Dead After The Release Of Hit Song

September 6, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Allen Hughes continues to share behind-the-scenes information about his relationship with legendary rapper, Tupac Shakur. The filmmaker recently joined Michael Rapaport to talk about his rapport with the artist. HipHopDx shared some information about this discussion that reveals another dour claim around the world-stopping death of perhaps the most well-known and influential hip-hop artist of all time. Hughes is a very candid person, as we have known for quite some time now, and he was not afraid to share a prediction that might surprise you.

Both Rapaport and Hughes discuss one of Tupac’s biggest hits ever, “Hit ‘Em Up.” The director recalled the first time he listened to the extremely aggressive cut and he felt it had some severe underlying results. Hughes talked to Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine after he played it for him. We can only imagine the reaction Iovine had but Hughes said to him, “‘Him and 2Pac and/or Suge [Knight] would be dead in less than six months.’ Hughes continues, “And it wasn’t the words; it was the energy. It’s the power of how he did it — particularly the outro.”

This Is Not The First Time Allen Hughes Has Done This

We can see why Hughes feels this way, especially with the threatening lyrics from Tupac. For example, he proclaims, “Out here in California, n****, we warned ya / We’ll bomb on you motherf*****s! We do our job! / You think you mob? N****, we the motherf*****g mob!” Ironically Hughes made this statement a few days before the tragic day of September 7, 1996. But, this is not the only time Hughes has shared his thoughts on the never-ending mystery. Although, he does not believe it is a mystery. “In the community, as we know, and in the streets, there was never a mystery to who killed 2Pac. What happened that night at the MGM Grand Casino and that violent incident that 2Pac and gang had with that individual — again, that guy [supposedly Orlando Anderson], everyone knows, came back and shot 2Pac.”

What are your initial thoughts on Allen Hughes making this bold prediction? What theory or story do you believe in relation to Tupac’s death? Why do you think there are so many different claims about the rapper’s passing? We want to hear what you have to say about all of this. With that in mind, be sure to leave all of your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest breaking news around the music world.

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Allen Hughes Says 2Pac Would Have Rivaled Denzel

May 10, 2023 by newhiphopnews

If there’s anyone who knows the man behind the myth of Tupac Shakur, it’s filmmaker Allen Hughes. Hughes, who is behind works such as Menace II Society and The Book OF Eli, is also the creative force behind Dear Mama, an FX documentary series about Tupac’s life. The series focuses on both Tupac and his mother, legendary Black Panther Afeni. It’s premiere set a record for an unscripted show on FX.

Hughes has shared some of that insight in a new interview on The Rich Eisen Show. Specifically, Hughes compared 2Pac’s potential to that of all-time great, Denzel Washington. 2Pac appeared in six non-cameo film and television roles before his death. These included films such as Juice, Above The Rim, and Gridlock’d.

Tupac Would Have Given Denzel “A Run For His Money”

“If he had been here, I think Denzel would have some stiff competition,” Hughes said. “He was that talented. Denzel and 2Pac share one thing in common, and I’ve seen them all. I’ve been with world-class pimps, charismatics all over the world, storytellers. The ‘it’ thing — you know, in streets or in the movie business — Denzel and 2Pac possessed. When they walk in a room, the emotional intelligence was off the charts, the social intelligence was off the charts. Genius level of social intelligence.” Hughes never directed Shakur but was heavily involved in the West Coast scene.

Read More: Allen Hughes says Eazy-E was originally in Menace II Society

Hughes also spoke about 2Pac likely putting music on the backburner, something the musician himself had alluded to before his death. “The difference is, Denzel is very wise and can control his emotions and 2Pac [couldn’t]. But 2Pac would’ve been one our greatest leading men, would’ve been a multiple Academy Award winner. And the music would’ve been secondary. I’m sure he would’ve still continued doing music, but he would be huge in the film world.” A thought-forgotten 1996 interview with 2Pac revealed that he wanted to move away from music and focus on film. But what do you think – would 2Pac have rivaled Denzel? Let us know in the comments below.

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“Menace II Society” Director Claims Eazy-E Was In Original Cast

April 14, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Menace II Society is a classic teen drama from the 1990s. The directorial debut of the Hughes Brothers (Dead Presidents, The Book Of Eli), the film highlighted the realities of life for Black teenagers in a post-Rodney King LA. The film’s cast featured a wealth of big-name actors, Jada Pinkett-Smith among them. The film also featured Larenz Tate, Samuel L. Jackson, Clifton Powell, and Tyrin Turner in the lead role.

However, a recent interview from one-half of the directorial team has revealed some fascinating new information about the film’s production. Allen Hughes, appearing on The Breakfast Club, spoke about who was meant to star in one of the lead roles. It also shed some light on the eventual breakup of N.W.A.

Eazy-E Was Cast And Later Dropped From “Menace II Society”

O-Dog is the best friend of Menace II Society‘s main character, Caine Lawson (Tyrin Turner). He is played by Larenz Tate (Power) to masterful perfection. However, the casting of Tate was not the production’s first choice. According to Allen Hughes, Eazy-E of N.W.A fame was originally cast in the role. “We wrote that role for Eazy-E,” Hughes said of O-Dog. Hughes and Eazy-E had a close relationship, with Hughes going as far as to call E his “mentor.”

However, Eazy and his business manager Jerry Heller ultimately led to a production change. According to Hughes, E and Heller were overly demanding about changes to the script, eventually forcing the Brothers to find a new actor. They first turned to Ice Cube, who turned down the role for fear of being type-cast after Boyz In The Hood. Eventually, they settled on Tate. “I learned everything from Eazy, but one of the things with him and Jerry is they always try to keep you in a box and control you. And they were trying to control us in the script and I just had to move on, and it was for peanuts. I adore Eazy. He was so giving and so down-to-earth. By the way, great with his fans, too. Very patient with his fans. But I see why Cube left, I see why Dre left. There was a whole thing there.” Hughes said.

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