A few weeks ago, Kenny Leon sent Afeni Shakur-Davis an email to let her know she was on his mind.
“She sent me this long beautiful note saying she was doing well, and reminding me [of the] responsibility I have as an artist and what a gift I am,” Leon, the artistic director of Atlanta’s True Colors Theatre Company. said.
Now, the “Holler If Ya Hear Me” director is processing the fact that his friend, collaborator and, most notably, the mother of rapper Tupac Shakur has died.
She was one of the Broadway musical’s producers, working on the production with Leon more than 15 years after the two first discussed the idea.
While living in Atlanta, Shakur-Davis met Leon and discussed the idea of making a musical based around her son’s poignant songs.
“The idea about having it not be based on his day-to-day life, but on his artistry, we’d talked about that 15 years ago,” Leon said.
When it came time to premiere the musical in 2014, it was Shakur-Davis’ approval that he sought the most.
“I wasn’t worried about what the critics would say about it, I was worried about what she would think about it,” he said.
Shakur-Davis was pleased.
“She single-handedly kept his music and his image alive, even after he was gone,” Leon said. “To see her cry and smile about what we had done in terms of creating a musical about his life, you just never forget that.”
In 1997, Tupac was shot multiple times after leaving an event in Las Vegas. The 25-year-old died six days later. His killing remains unsolved.
The Tony-award winning director said he felt a responsibility to honor both Shakur-Davis and her the legacy of her son’s work.
“When [Tupac] left, he left a hole in America, in the same sense that Prince left a great footprint,” he said.
But the lessons Leon took away from Shakur-Davis extend far beyond their professional relationship.
As he works on upcoming projects such as NBC’s upcoming “Hairspray Live!,” her trust in his ability to create “Holler If Ya Hear Me” continues to motivate him.
“What I took away from her was that you have to be the judge of your contributions to the world,” he said. “You have to decide what is good in terms of how you serve the world and you are in control of what you leave on the planet.”
Leon said he’ll especially miss Shakur-Davis’ warm hugs.
Sonia Murray, former AJC reporter and marketing content manager for CBS Radio Atlanta, echoed his sentiments.
When Tupac released “Dear Mama,” Murray wrote a profile for the AJC on the woman who inspired the song. She went on to form a bond with Shakur-Davis that extended beyond their working relationship.
Despite the fact that the song referenced Shakur-Davis’ struggle with drug addiction and her tumultuous relationship with her son, Murray said the mother still took pride in it.
And, despite the fact that Tupac was in prison when Murray first met the mother, Shakur-Davis’ unconditional love for her son was still evident.
Leon said now that Shakur-Davis has died, he believes “Dear Mama” will take on a deeper meaning.
“That’s a great literary contribution to the world. That’s a universal piece of art that is worldwide,” he said.
It’s fitting that Tupac’s legacy still continues to live on even with news of his mother’s death, considering she devoted decades of her life to keeping his memory alive.
“If you’d met Afeni and you’d never met Tupac and didn’t understand his music, you would get it once you talked to her,” Murray said. “I got a sense of why he was the artist that he was just by knowing his mom.”
