Demetrius Shipp Jr. as Tupac Shakur in "All Eyez on Me," which hits theaters on June 17, 2017. (Photo : YouTube/Zero Media)
Tupac Shakur fans have been waiting for the release of the late rapper's upcoming biopic, "All Eyez on Me," ever since the film's trailer dropped a few months ago. The film, which stars Demetrius Shipp Jr. as the rap legend, now has an official release date.
An Instagram video taken during Shipp's birthday party revealed that the biopic will open in theaters on June 16, 2017. The release date also happens to be Shakur's birthdate and would be the MC's 46th birthday.
Moreover, Dominic Santana, who plays Death Row Records co-founder, Suge Knight, in the upcoming film and director Benny Boom also announced the release date on their respective social media accounts.
"We're all anxious for it to come out but people gotta remember it's a major film and there's a lot of process to releasing major films," Santana said in a statement obtained by Vibe. "Because it was Tupac a lot of buzz was created word of mouth even while we were filming which usually doesn't happen until a movie is about to come out."
"All Eyez on Me" was originally slated to hit theaters in September but the release date was pushed back due to song licensing issues. Rapper Daz Dillinger and publishing company BMG were involved in a dispute over the rights of "Ambitionz Az A Ridah," a track from 2Pac's fourth studio album, which features heavily in the film, according to TMZ.
The film will chronicle Shakur's meteoric rise to fame on the West Coast rap scene in the '90s. The biopic will also focus on the rapper's relationship with Notorious B.I.G. a.k.a. Biggie Smalls, his time at Death Row Records and his shocking murder.
The movie also stars Jamal Woolard as Smalls, Danai Gurira as Afeni Shakur, Jada Pinkett Smith as Kat Graham and Erica Pinkett as Ayanna Jackson. Watch the film's trailer below:
