According to reports, Tupac Shakur’s ring was initially believed to have sold for $300,000 before going for over triple that amount.
Drake spent $1 Million on Tupac Shakur’s Crown Ring
Drizzy Drake purchased Tupac Shakur’s Crown Ring for $1 Million.
On Monday (July 24), Sotheby's New York announced Pac's ring had sold for $1,016,000, an incredible price given the $300,000 estimate that officials believed it would've initially sold for. The $1 million price tag has made 2Pac's ring one of the most valuable hip-hop artifacts ever sold at an auction.
“This one-of-a-kind, custom ring was meticulously designed by Pac and is among the final products of his boundless creative energy — a unique artifact from a period of time that is a testament to his enduring influence on hip-hop," said Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby's Global Head of Science and Popular Culture.
It appears Drizzy Drake spent over $1 million on Tupac Shakur's crown ring, which adds to his expensive collection of rapper-owned jewelry.
On Friday (July 28), taking to his Instagram Story to reveal that he had purchased Tupac Shakur's crown ring.
In Drake’s post, he showed off his extravagant ring with the caption, “UTOPIA OUT NOW MELTDOWN [nauseated face and masked face emojis].”
He's referring to his verse on Travis Scott “Utopia” track "Meltdown" in which he raps that he melted Pharrell's iced-out N.E.R.D. chain and his other jewelry that he bought at auction last November.
The auction was held to celebrate 50 years of Hip Hop, and included a plethora of other rare items such as RZA’s E-mu SP-1200 sampler and drum machine that he used to produce Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), a custom-made De La Soul jacket that belonged to the late Trugoy the Dove, and Fab 5 Freddy’s original sign from the set of Yo! MTV Raps.
Tupac wore the ring — which comprises of gold, ruby and diamonds — during his last public appearance at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards, soon after which he was fatally shot at the age of 25. It bears an inscription that reads: “Pac & Dada 1996,” referencing his fairy-tale engagement to sweetheart Kidada Jones.
According to the auction house, the ring was designed soon after his release from prison. He expressed to his godmother and manager, Yaasmyn Fula Fula, that he wanted a piece to serve as “an act of self-coronation” and symbolize the next phase of his career.
“Sitting atop a diamond-encrusted gold band is the ‘crown’ itself: a gold circlet studded with the three largest jewels in the entire piece—a central cabochon ruby, flanked by two pavé-cut diamonds,” the listing reads.
“Tupac’s selection of the ruby as the principal stone in his crown is a continuation of this royal narrative, as rubies have long been symbolically tied to the imagery of monarchy and wealth in our cultural imagination.”
