The veteran actorturnedcannabis farmer also tells EW how his love of hip-hop inspired a popular Saturday Night Live sketch.
WhenTupac Shakurarrived late to a rehearsal for the filmGang Relatedin 1996, his costarJim Belushicalled him out.
“So I brought myThe Golden YearsCD [to set] and we listened to it in the trailer.
Jim Belushi and Tupac Shakur in ‘Gang Related’.Everett Collection
We worked on it between scenes.”
Belushi wasn’t new to the rap game when he and Shakur starred in theJim Koufdirected project.
What can you share about that moment?
JIM BELUSHI:We were shooting all night onGang Relatedand wrapped as the sun was rising.
We were sitting there smoking a cigar, and I just loved what he said.
It made me laugh.
He looked over at you and said, “I’m a thug.
I prefer the sunrise.”
What had you guys been discussing at that moment?
During that sunrise, we were having a talk.
When he said that, it was a non sequitur.
We weren’t talking at that moment, just watching.
Then he popped out with that.
What was the talk about?
As prolific as he was as a musician, he had never really heard Frank Sinatra.
So I brought him myThe Golden YearsCD and we listened to it in the trailer.
He was so impressed by Sinatra.
We worked on it in between scenes, and we were talking about it during that sunrise.
But he later said, “I can’t do it.”
And I was like, “What do you mean you could’t do it?”
He said, “It’s too melodically beautiful to interrupt.
There’s just no way.
It’s too perfect of a song to mess with.”
My response to him was, “Well, now you get Frank, don’tcha?”
We didn’t get far into this project, but we toyed with the idea of collaborating.
We entertained each other on the set.
What could’ve been!Were you a fan of rap music before you met him?
I was a fan ofGrandmaster Flash, way back when I was onSaturday Night Live.
I couldn’t think about what to write forSaturday Night Livein like ‘83, ‘84.
We were freestyling down the street.
I did the spins and the jumps.
I can still do them.
Did you ever freestyle for Tupac?
I busted his chops all the time.
I told him that I’d been rapping since he was coloring with crayons in grade school.
I did my whole white-guy rap for him and he laughed so hard.
What I loved about him is that he was a poet, he was a writer.
I was already a fan of his music before we worked together.
At the time, there were a lot of rappers singing about being an MC.
It was a lot of “me, me, me.”
But Tupac was all about the world around him, and it was beautiful and moving.
He was such a great lyricist.
One of my favorite songs he did is “Wonder Why They Call You Bitch.”
That one breaks my heart every time I hear it.
I also love “Dear Mama” and “Shorty Wanna Be a Thug.”
[Belushi starts singing the song.]
Ilove"Shorty Wanna Be a Thug."
How long after the film wrapped did Tupac die?
He died 10 days after we finished shooting.
I was in Australia at the time, where I was shooting some commercials.
Oh my God, it was so heartbreaking.
He died so young, and with so much potential.
Yeah, I feel that way about my brother [John Belushi] too.
And Tupac wasn’t the only rapper on set.Kool Moe Deealso worked onGang Related,right?
Yeah, we only had him there one day, but he was super cool.
That’s a rap trio that could’ve been.
[Laughs] We should’ve had a rap party together.
We had a lot of fun teasing each other.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
