Hard drive with unreleased Tupac music and photos to be auctioned off

Unreleased music by Tupac and photographs of the late rapper have gone on auction for an expected sell price of up to $1 million (€885,492).

TMZ reports that a computer hard drive, owned by the rapper’s bodyguard and right-hand man, is being sold by GottaHaveRockandRoll.com at a starting price of $10,000. The hard drive of Tupac materials was originally owned by Frank Alexander, who has since died.

The rare memorabilia apparently contains a number of never-before-seen items, such as photographs, music, and legal docs. TMZ claim that the digital files include an alternate version of the rapper’s song 'Let’s Get It On', as well as candid images of Tupac and his friends working on music and other creative endeavours.

Additionally, the hard drive also contains legal paperwork such as depositions and other documents. The Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation will receive 10 percent of the earnings from the auction.

A number of 2Pac’s items have been auctioned off in recent years. In January 2019, explicit drawings and hand-drawn love letters crafted to his girlfriend while in prison were sold for $21,156 at auction.

Just months before, two letters he wrote to his high school love were on the auction block. In 2020, bandanas that were previously owned and worn by the rapper were up for grabs, as well as multiple handwritten lyric sheets, letters, and original liner notes from his album Makaveli.

Tupac Amaru Shakur, born Lesane Parish Crooks, is considered one of the most influential rappers of all time - selling more than 75 million records worldwide.

By the time he released his debut album 2Pacalypse Now in 1991, he had become a central figure in West Coast hip hop, introducing social issues to the genre at a time when gangsta rap was dominant in the mainstream. Shakur achieved further critical and commercial success with his follow-up albums Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... (1993) and Me Against the World (1995).

In 1995, Shakur served eight months in prison on sexual assault charges, but was released after agreeing to sign with Marion "Suge" Knight's label Death Row Records in exchange for Knight posting his bail.

Following his release, Shakur became heavily involved in the growing East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry. His double-disc album All Eyez on Me (1996), incorporated volatile gangsta rap instead of his usual reflective words, and was certified Diamond by the RIAA.

In September 1996, Shakur was shot four times by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. He died six days later and the gunman was never captured.