Casting for the Tupac Musical "Holler If Ya Hear Me"

In late February 2012, word broke that Tupac Shakur’s songs were coming to Broadway: casting got underway for the musical Holler If Ya Hear Me, named after his 1993 single. Broadway director Kenny Leon took on the staging, and Tupac’s mother Afeni Shakur had approved the project.

Auditions in New York: Theater Experience Was Not Required

AllHipHop cited an advertisement in the industry trade publication Playbill: starting March 4, rappers between the ages of 18 and 35 were set to audition in New York, with theater experience not required. Workshops for those selected were scheduled from April 23 to May 11.

Planned for 2012, on Broadway Not Until 2014

In early March, according to rap.de, the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation clarified that the production would not recount his life; his biography merely provided the foundation. A premiere in New York still in 2012 was planned.

The schedule did not hold. The Broadway premiere at the Palace Theatre did not follow until June 19, 2014.