Race Jones
gangster. grace. alchemy
People are willing to spend considerable amounts of money on collectible items, especially thanks to online auctions. Within Hip-Hop alone, collecting items belonging to rappers and others has become a multi-million-dollar industry, particularly when it involves artists who have passed away. Unsurprisingly, Tupac Shakur is one of the most highly sought-after musicians in history, as far as memorabilia is concerned. Next month, the late icon will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but not before a historic auction takes place that will likely see sales totals well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
According to Baker, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington are the two most collected Presidents. A formal, two-to-three page letter from either can range anywhere in price from $150,000 to $250,000. At an auction this past October, a four-page handwritten letter from Tupac Shakur, sent from jail to a Black charity, went for $169,000, putting Pac in the company of Presidents and some of the country’s greatest national treasures. Baker adds that “a one-sheet, handwritten lyric sheet to one of his songs goes for about $30-35,ooo. A canceled check, $2,500. A contract, $7,500. The tickets that he had in his pocket when he was killed, that went for, like, $7,500.” Just today, it was reported that Tupac’s handwritten lyrics for his landmark single “Dear Mama” are up for sale for $75,000. These astronomical prices are driven by the simple fact that “people want Tupac Shakur.”
On April 7, some of Tupac’s items will be available at the Black Heritage Auction organized in part by Baker. “We’re building the auction around Tupac, who that day is being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” he explains. The induction ceremony begins at 7pm at Barclay’s Center in Downtown Brooklyn, New York, whereas the auction will run from 1pm to 6pm at a nearby loft. Shakur-related items include his Death Row Records medallion, handwritten lyrics for songs from All Eyez On Me and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, some of the clothing he wore in music videos, and more.
Mester
