Tupac’s Father Claims He Was Tricked Into Appearing in ‘Dear Mama’ Documentary And Hated The Song

Tupac Shakur’s biological dad might’ve appeared in Hulu’s “Dear Mama” documentary, but he wasn’t happy with the final result.
Allen Hughes’ “Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur” clears up any misunderstanding about who Tupac’s real father is. The documentary provides the back story of how former Black Panther Billy Garland conceived Tupac with the late Afeni Shakur during their time in the political organization.
But Tupac grew up with a skewed understanding of who his biological father really was. By the time he penned the song “Dear Mama,” the young rapper was embattled over his family tree and referred to his father as a “coward” in the song.
“No love for my daddy, ’cause the coward wasn’t there/He passed away and I didn’t cry/’Cause my anger wouldn’t let me feel for a stranger,” Tupac raps on the 1995 track.
Garland shared his initial response to the song when he appeared on “The Art of the Dialogue” on Tuesday, June 7, and was asked about Tupac’s infamous “Dear Mama” lyrics.
“At first I was upset because I’m trying to see you,” Garland said about his relationship with Tupac at the time.
“But then it hit me, for one I ain’t dead, and so you really didn’t know me,” he said noting how the lyric made him realize that “someone had lied” to Tupac about the real identity of his biological father.

Now in hindsight, Garland loves the song and he sees Tupac as his son. The documentary reveals when Garland finally made contact with Tupac while he was in the hospital recovering from a shooting and the two shared a bond prior to Tupac’s 1997 murder.
But when it comes to the documentary, Garland believes he was blindsided by how the film seemingly made him look like he was badmouthing Afeni for keeping his identity a secret.

“Allen Hughes asked me to do an interview,” Garland said. “He didn’t tell me it was about “Dear Mama.” He didn’t tell me too much of anything except that it was about Tupac.”
Garland was “slightly disappointed” with the interview and how it was “more about something else” and not his late son.
Hughes remains transparent throughout the doc about his past quarrel with Tupac in the early 90s, including Tupac once calling the director a “delusional myth maker,” as mentioned in Garland’s latest interview. But now Hughes has Tupac’s father to answer to.