The iconic crown worn by the Notorious BIG and Tupac’s teenage love letters are among items sold in Sotheby’s first ever Hip Hop themed auction in New York.
According to the BBC, the six dollar plastic crown featured in Biggie’s famous ‘King of New York’ picture – captured three days before his murder in 1997 – sold for a staggering $594,670, or about half a million Euro. The Brooklyn born rapper was one of the biggest hip hop acts of all time, alongside his longtime rival Tupac Shakur.
A collection of 22 letters written by a 16 year old Tupac to his high school sweetheart in 1980s Baltimore fetched $75,600 in the auction, or about 63,800 Euro. The love letters were described in Sotheby’s catalogue as ‘incredibly sweet and at times steamy’ and displayed the command of language that would later launch the rapper into stardom. He was killed in a Las Vegas drive by shooting in September 1996, only months before Biggie’s death.
A portion of the auction’s revenue will be donated to community projects in New York City’s poor neighbourhoods.
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