Steve McQueen to direct authorized Tupac Shakur documentary

May 10 (UPI) -- 12 Years a Slave filmmaker Steve McQueen is set to direct an authorized documentary about Tupac Shakur.

The late rapper's estate is cooperating on the project.

"I am extremely moved and excited to be exploring the life and times of this legendary artist. I attended New York University film school in 1993 and can remember the unfolding hip-hop world and mine overlapping with Tupac's through a mutual friend in a small way. Few, if any shined brighter than Tupac Shakur. I look forward to working closely with his family to tell the unvarnished story of this talented man," McQueen said in a statement Tuesday.

"Tupac's timeless message resonates today as strongly as it did when I first discovered him in 1990, possibly more so," added Tom Whalley, trustee of the Shakur estate. "His legacy is unfortunately seen now through the refraction of the headlines, the controversy, and the tragic way his life ended. With this film, we will show the artist and the young man who existed beyond the news. I have an obligation to both Tupac and [his mother] Afeni Shakur, to make sure this project becomes realized. In the final year of her life, Afeni and I spoke often of her desire to have her son's true story be told. We are very excited to be working with the talents of Steve McQueen, Jayson Jackson and Nigel Sinclair. Together, with the team we have assembled, I am honored to have the opportunity to bring the documentary Tupac started in 1996 to life."

Sinclair's White Horse Pictures serves as the worldwide sales agent for the documentary. Interscope Records, the label that released most of Shakur's catalogue, and Universal Music Publishing Group will provide full support to the production. Both companies are divisions of Universal Music Group.

Shakur, a recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, was killed in a Las Vegas, drive-by shooting in 1996. He was 25. No one has been convicted of the slaying.