A hard drive containing previously unheard Tupac Shakur songs and “intimate” photos of the rapper will be auctioned off starting Wednesday (1 December).
Yesterday (30 November), the auction house handling the sale, Gotta Have Rock and Roll, described the contents of the drive, which belonged to Shakur’s personal bodyguard, Frank Alexander.
The late rapper’s bodyguard – died in 2013 – was with Shakur when he was fatally shot by an unknown assailant on 7 September, 1996.
The rapper was 25 when he was killed.
“There are few people who could better document the life of rap’s biggest star” than Alexander, according to the lot description on the auction house’s website.
In addition to unreleased music and photographs, the 83GB hard drive also contains “materials compiled and curated by the people closest to him” including videos and items relating to 2Pac “at the height of his career”.
Gotta Have Rock and Roll said this “behind-the-scenes media” may help uncover lesser-known aspects of Shakur’s life, while cementing his status as a “musical genius” and “creative mastermind”.
It cited an unreleased version of 2Pac’s last recorded song “Get On It”, his bodyguard’s resume, and a 30-second-clip of never-before-heard song among the reasons why this hard drive is so “valuable”.
An opening bid is set at $10,000 (£7,510). However, it is expected to sell for between $600,000 (£451,000) and $1,200,000 (£901,000).
The auction house has previously handled the sale of Elvis Presley’s 1942 Martin D-18 Sun Sessions guitar (or “the guitar that started rock and roll”) and John Lennon’s piano, on which he reportedly composed “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”.
