Step-father of Tupac Shakur, Mutulu Shakur is now a free man and talks with NBC News for his first interview since his release.
Mutulu Shakur who was released back on December 16th of 2022, after spending 35 years behind bars, is now spending time with his family in Los Angeles. Shakur was facing a 60-year sentence, but was released on parole because of his recent health issues, after being denied multiple times in the past couple of years.
That all changed in October of 2022 when officials decided that Mutulu was no “longer physically capable of committing any Federal, State, or local crime.”
One of those health issues consist of stage 3 multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that can affect the bones and kidneys. Mutulu Shakur has also endured drastic weight loss due to his illnesses and treatments.
With that being said, Shakur is now home free and is looking to the future. “I’m so happy to be free,” Mutulu told NBC News. “I fought hard every day that I was incarcerated. I have a lot to do, hoping that society gives me another swing at it. But my life is an example of what could happen. I am very hopeful.”
“I am receiving excellent care in two categories — Western oncology and holistic natural therapies. I don’t take this freedom for granted,” he added.
One has to wonder if Mutulu Shakur will be featured on Tupac and Afeni Shakur’s upcoming Dear Mama docuseries. The series was originally slated for a Fall 2022 release, but was pushed back to Spring of 2023. (View: How To Watch Dear Mama, Tupac And Afeni Shakur’s FX Docuseries)
From Allen Hughes, the award-winning director of critically acclaimed The Defiant Ones, comes FX’s Dear Mama, a deeply personal five-part series that defies the conventions of traditional documentary storytelling to share an illuminating saga of mother and son, Afeni and Tupac Shakur.
Regardless of his involvement in the docuseries or not, Mutulu Shakur is enjoying his time with family and according to his son Mopreme Shakur, the 72-year-old has already gained 9 pounds in his first 10 days of freedom.
“It’s been a great, great day, in 38 years of life, that I have had an opportunity to hug and nestle with my six children and three grandchildren,” Mutulu tells NBC News. “I am so proud of them, that they have survived and are presently in good physical and, more importantly, mental strength in light of what my life has caused them. They’re very productive citizens that have not been tainted by the politics of my issues.”
