Hot on the heels of the announced forthcoming filmed epic centering around the life of the Notorious B.I.G., filmmakers have skipped his arch-rival Tupac in the biopic stakes and gone straight to his mother with Dear Mama: The Life Story Of Afeni Shaku. Producer and former ‘Pac confrere Young Noble is clearly as awed by Tupac’s politically radical, estate-executing mama as he is by ‘Pac himself:

“The Dear Mama story is long overdue…I’m just so blessed to be in a position to produce this movie and make sure Afeni and ‘Pac is proud when its done, this movie will offer hope and be an inspiration to the millions of people who will see it,” said Young Noble. “This incredible lady defended herself in court while pregnant with 2Pac during a bomb conspiracy trial facing 352 years and was acquitted of 156 counts against her and 20 other members of the Black Panther Party! I felt that the world needs to know where 2Pac got his mind, heart, spirit and courage so I called Afeni with the idea. She was excited and gave me her blessing.”

The film is still in the casting-and-whatnot stages (so please feel free to offer your Tupac/Afeni suggestions in the comments box), but they’re already talking up the a star-studded soundtrack, if only to fufill this year’s industry-mandated requirements for posthumous Tupac-related CDs.

HollyHood Filmz To Produce Dear Mama: The Life Story Of Afeni Shakur [XXL]