On this date in 1992, Paramount Pictures presented the highly anticipated hood flick Juice, which stars a still rising rap star by the name of Tupac Shakur, who plays a crooked crimie from Uptown by the name of “Bishop”.
His co-star, Omar Epps(Higher Learning, In Too Deep), plays a local DJ with industry potential named “GQ”, alongside Jermaine “Huggy” Hopkins(Lean On Me) and Khalil Kain, who all form a loosely knit crew of truants who are headed in the wrong direction.
This movie was very instrumental in bringing Hip Hop artists onto the silver screen, with cameo appearances from Treach of Naughty By Nature, Queen Latifah, EPMD’s DJ Scratch and Special Ed. Juice also helped to introduce the soundtrack as a way to market movies for larger budgets.
For those who never took notice, it wasn’t until after ‘Pac made everyone love to hate his character Bishop that Shakur’s run-ins with the law became more frequent and his “Thug Life” persona became more noticeable and for its own intent, purposeful. Many will say that it was life imitating art. Some will say that this was the real Tupac; he was just being filmed.
Most hip hop fans who grew up in the 1990s and early 2000s are undoubtedly familiar with the hit 1992 film Juice, starring Tupac Shakur, Omar Epps, Khalil Kain, and Jermaine Hopkins. The film tells a gritty tale of power, friendship, and the consequences of untreated mental health in a pervasive environment of crime and poverty. Now, over 30 years after the iconic film’s release, fans have wondered what has become of the actors who brought these fascinating characters to life.
If you’re reading this, you almost certainly know that Tupac Shakur was tragically shot and killed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1996. The rapper starred in Juice as Roland Bishop, the film’s central antagonist. Juice served as Shakur’s feature film debut, opening doors in his career for a host of other movie and television roles before his untimely death at the age of 25. In the years following his breakout performance, the “Dear Mama” vocalist starred in a number of classic films, including Poetic Justice, Above The Rim, Gridlock’d, and Gang Related.
In addition to his thriving acting career, Tupac Shakur also continued releasing music after appearing in Juice in 1992. After releasing his debut album in 1991, the rapper launched four full-length LPs, including a collaborative album with the rap group Thug Life. Following his death, Tupac’s music would continue to be released posthumously for years, showcasing his prolific recording process and inimitable work ethic. The rapper has gone down in history as one of the most popular and impactful emcees of all time.
Omar Epps
Like Tupac Shakur, Juice served as Omar Epps’s breakout role in film. The Brooklyn-born actor stars in the movie as Quincy “Q” Powell, the central protagonist. In the decades since Juice first premiered, Epps has continued appearing in film and television roles, most notably starring in the hit Fox series House as Dr. Eric Foreman. Epps appeared in 175 episodes of the medical drama between 2004 and 2012 and often served as a straight-edged man against Hugh Laurie’s eccentric medical practices.
Beyond House, Omar Epps has appeared in such projects as Scream 2, In Too Deep, Against The Ropes, and Trick. Most recently, the actor showcased his talents in the hit Starz original series Power Book 3: Raising Kanan. In the series, Epps portrays NYPD detective Malcolm Howard. Despite many rumors circulating in Hollywood, Epps clarified during a 2018 interview on The Breakfast Club that he is not related to comedian Mike Epps.
Like his co-stars, Khalil Kain made his acting debut in Juice back in 1992. Now, over 30 years after the crime thriller’s release, Kain has amassed dozens of on-screen credits and even taking up directing. His biggest recent credits include projects such as Misguided Behavior, Coming To Africa, Faceblocked, and The Bricks. In 2022, Kain made his directing debut with the film The Millennial, which he also starred in. The film made its world premiere at the 2021 Hip Hop Film Festival and opened to generally positive reviews. With so much success in his on-screen career, this may mark the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Khalil Kain.
Jermaine Hopkins
Jermaine Hopkins, also known as “Huggy,” was the only member of the main cast who had appeared in another major motion picture before Juice. Having starred as Thomas Sams in Lean On Me three years earlier, Hopkins was among the most experienced of the core four. In the years following the film’s release, Huggy went on to appear in a host of other film and television projects, including a four-episode stint on The Royal Family, a leading role in the TV movie Strapped, and most recently, a prominent placement in 2023’s Sebastian. The actor also reunited with Tupac Shakur for an appearance in the 1996 film Bullet.
Unfortunately, Hopkins has also suffered some legal trouble in the decades since Juice was released. The actor was arrested in 2011 and 2017 on marijuana charges. The first arrest saw him taking 30 days in jail and three years probation after attempting to purchase 200 pounds of weed from an undercover police officer, while the 2017 arrest resulted in two years of probation. Luckily, these legal issues haven’t done much to hamper Hopkins’ career, as the actor has continued to appear in movies and television consistently.
Veteran actor Omar Epps just added another title to his repertoire. Epps, who is attached to so many of our childhood memories, recently added author to his resume. He was live on “Good Morning America” today as he spoke with co-anchor Michael Strahan about his new sci-fi book “Nubia: The Reckoning.”
Of the second installment in the “Nubia” series, Epps said, “It’s really about inclusion in an organic way. I try to have characters that represent the world in the way that it looks–and people that haven’t been seen and heard […] are [also] felt.”
Epps shared that he envisions the “Nubia” series as a trilogy, with ideas for also taking the series to the screen, including film, television, animation and beyond. He said, “In a sense, I’ve created a universe here, and I want to be able to tell as many stories as I can within it.”
On The Daily Show, Omar Epps and guest host Marlon Wayans talked about 2Pac and recalled a prank that the rapper had performed during the filming of Juice. It had made Epps super mad at the time, but he now laughs back at it. They spent most of the segment talking about their history together as friends, and a little bit about Epps’ new book. Epps and Wayans were friends since childhood. At first, they did not like each other. However, after they fought each other and learned that they had the same fighting style, they became best friends.
Juice was Tupac’s second movie. The first was Dan Akyroid’s 1991 Nothing But Trouble. However, he was only a background character in that movie, so it does not really count. People had high hopes for Tupac’s acting career, with some even saying that he was a better actor than he was an actor. He would continue on to appear in five more movies and two tv episodes, before his passing in 1996, something that J. Prince believes could have been prevented.
Wayans explains that Tupac had a penchant for pranking the cast members. One time, Epps had fallen asleep with his mouth open, so Tupac pulled out his testicles and put them near his mouth. Epps admits he was very mad about it at the time, but he now finds it funny. He even admits that it would have gone viral if the internet was as massive back then as it is today. He also tells Wayans that he would be upset too if he woke up to find somebody’s testicles near his mouth.
2Pac was a big jokester. It does not matter when or where he was. He was always willing to play jokes on people. DJ Quik had this to say about him during a recent interview. “Outside of the studio, he was a jokester – bagging on n-ggas, joking, fun. We toured a little bit. He got in my ass one time too. We were about to get into a fight because he thought I was stealing his stage show — like when he would rap and jump up on the speakers.”
On this date in 1992, Paramount Pictures presented the highly anticipated hood flick Juice, which stars a still rising rap star by the name of Tupac Shakur, who plays a crooked crimie from Uptown by the name of “Bishop”.
His co-star, Omar Epps(Higher Learning, In Too Deep), plays a local DJ with industry potential named “GQ”, alongside Jermaine “Huggy” Hopkins(Lean On Me) and Khalil Kain, who all form a loosely knit crew of truants who are headed in the wrong direction.
This movie was very instrumental in bringing Hip Hop artists onto the silver screen, with cameo appearances from Treach of Naughty By Nature, Queen Latifah, EPMD’s DJ Scratch and Special Ed. Juice also helped to introduce the soundtrack as a way to market movies for larger budgets.
For those who never took notice, it wasn’t until after ‘Pac made everyone love to hate his character Bishop that Shakur’s run-ins with the law became more frequent and his “Thug Life” persona became more noticeable and for its own intent, purposeful. Many will say that it was life imitating art. Some will say that this was the real Tupac; he was just being filmed.
