Tupac Shakur: Words Never Die (1997)

Words Never Die is one of the early productions made after Tupac’s death in September 1996. English Wikipedia lists it as a 1997 television documentary, and it later came out on DVD in the US. At just over 50 minutes, it is the shortest documentary in this section.

Facts and figures

The hosts

The Baka Boyz are brothers Nick and Eric Vidal from Bakersfield, California. They made their name from 1992 on at Los Angeles hip-hop station Power 106, where they hosted the morning show for years. In the nineties that made them some of the best-known radio voices on the West Coast scene, the very world Tupac lived and worked in at the end. The DVD sleeve bills them as “the No. 1 DJs in the USA”; that is marketing copy.

What it covers

According to the distributor’s description, the film tells Tupac’s story in three stages: a difficult youth during which the family at times had no fixed home, his start as a young actor, and his rise in the music business, from the group Digital Underground to Death Row Records. As extras, the DVD lists an “exclusive” Tupac interview and a previously unreleased rap tribute to him. Who recorded it is not clear from the available information.

Verdict

Reliable information on Words Never Die is thin: no known reviews, no credited director, no details on the broadcaster or air date. A short TV documentary can’t be expected to go deep. It is mainly interesting as a period piece, an example of how the Los Angeles radio and TV world looked back on Tupac shortly after his death.

According to its description, speculative murder theories are not the focus. For a thorough life story, Tupac: Resurrection or Thug Angel are better picks. Thug Immortal also dates from the first year after his death.