Evergreen Copyrights

EverGreen inks deal with Shakur, biopic in the works

May 16 2007, Susan Butler, Billboard Magazine

EverGreen Copyrights has acquired the writer's share of Tupac Shakur's publishing catalog from his mother Afeni Shakur, providing the publisher with a revenue stream from more than 350 commercially released songs, countless poems and several albums' worth of unrecorded material. Universal Music Publishing Group owns, and will continue to administer, the copyrights in the catalog.

"I believe that after 10 years, I have done as much as I can on my own to further the creative aspect of Tupac's music," says Afeni Shakur. EverGreen plans to work closely with UMPG and Afeni Shakur to promote and market the catalog.

David Schulhof, co-CEO of EverGreen, says that several projects are in the works to promote the music. Preston Holmes (Hustle & Flow, Marvin: The Life Story of Marvin Gaye) and Karolyn Ali (Tupac: Resurrection) are producing a feature film, Live 2 Tell, from a script written by Shakur while serving in prison, as well as an unscripted biopic on Tupac's life, Shulhof says. Also, Mosaic Media Group is actively developing a Broadway musical featuring Shakur's music, he adds.

"While Tupac was controversial, he was a voice of America who was there to discuss the hardships and racism in his community," Shulhof says. "People already have recognized him as one of the greatest artists in rap music, but in time, he will be on the same level as someone like Bob Marley -- someone who has an important impact on the world not only ;as a musical genius, but as a political figure."

The deal is expected to be announced today (May 16).