An unpublished booklet of poetry written and illustrated by a young 2Pac will be auctioned by Sotheby's.
The auction house reported that the rapper wrote the book when he was only 11 years old, making it the earliest piece of his writing to date. Pac allegedly gave the book to four incarcerated Black Panther members, including his godfather Jamal Joseph, who was convicted in the 1981 robbery of a Brink's armored vehicle.
Pac's booklet appears to contain haikus(Japanese poems) about topics he would later explore in his music. Also included is a self portrait of Pac asleep with a pen in his hand, dreaming about the Black Panthers' release. He signed the piece, “Tupac Shakur, Future Freedom Fighter.”
The piece will be auctioned off on Wednesday during Sotheby's second hip-hop-themed auction. Forbes says the manuscript will reach a price range of $200,000-$300,000. In addition, the collection will include Pac's letters to a high school sweetheart at age 17; Chuck D's original silver Raiders Starter jacket signed by the artist; the original concept art for Beastie Boys' License to Ill album cover; and Biz Markie's fur coat and hat.
“Following the success of Sotheby’s historic first Hip Hop auction in 2020, our second sale in this series expands on the generational, geographic, and artistic scope of Hip Hop’s creative narrative,” Sotheby’s Global Head of Science and Popular Culture, Cassandra Hatton, said in a press release. “From the ’70s to the present, from the East Coast to the West, The Art and Influence of Hip Hop seeks to represent and honor the voices and visionaries who continue to move the crowd and redefine culture.”
Jamal Joseph confirmed last month he had signed on to executive produce a biopic about Afeni Shakur, Pac's mother whom he befriended as a member of the Black Panther Party. The movie, titled Peace, Love & Respect: The Afeni Shakur/Panther 21 Story, will primarily focus on the activist's life between 1969 and 1971, but it will also include scenes from her childhood. The biopic will be produced by Dina LaPolt and co-executive produced by Jasmine Guy backed by the Shakur estate.
“Afeni Shakur lived a life of challenge, power, rebelliousness, genius and beauty,” Joseph, now nearing his 70s, told the outlet. “This is an origin story of a fierce, sexy, trailblazing, woman in Blackness Super Hero!”