Vondie Curtis-Hall originally offered the part of Spoon to Laurence Fishburne. But Curtis-Hall could not afford Fishburne's salary. The part was also offered to Don Cheadle and Forest Whitaker.
According to producer Damian Jones, Tupac Shakur was also making music videos and recording music every day after filming. The producers convinced Shakur to cut back on his musical activities because his exhaustion was affecting his performance.
When main characters are in the diner for "breakfast", the TV news broadcast from the kitchen shows the announcer doing station identification as "KMT" ... they're supposed to be in Detroit, east of the Mississippi River, where station IDs start with a "W" ... stations west of the Mississippi start w/ a "K".
Ezekiel 'Spoon' Whitmore: [on the phone, trying to get an ambulance for Cookie]
Hello? There's a woman been shot - a white woman. Okay? There's a whole bunch of black people out here, shooting and burning cars, talking about revolution. You better send some motherfuckers out here!
Supervisor: Let me see if you understand this, my man. Rules are rules. Am I supposed to change 'em because you sitting across there screaming? Take a look at you. You fucking walk in here after, five, ten, however many years, and because today is the day you decide to kick, the whole fucking world is supposed to stop? Is that it? We all have been waiting for the day that you come through that door and tell us you no longer wanted to be a fucking dope fiend? Right? Get the fuck away from my desk.