Drake Buys Tupac’s Custom Gold Ring As Mystery Auction Bidder For $1.02 Million

Drake has announced he’s releasing a poetry book with the cumbersome title, Titles Ruin Everything, A Stream of Consciousness by Kenza Samir and Aubrey Graham. He’s also releasing an accompanying album, For All the Dogs, that’s set to drop soon. He also just revealed he purchased a legendary piece of jewelry.

Drake recently swung by Sidetalk, which promotes itself on Instagram as “New York’s one-minute street show.” Speaking from the strip club Starlets, he flashes what’s on his pinkie during his appearance. “I’m wearin’ Tupac’s ring,” Drake said during the interview. 

Drake’s appearance revealed that he placed the winning $1.02 million bid for Tupac’s custom crown-shaped ring. Sotheby’s in New York confirmed Drake was the buyer and the auction house said the sale makes it the most valuable hip-hop artifact ever sold at auction. The piece, which is encrusted with diamonds and rubies, was designed for the late rapper after his stint in jail for his new deal with Death Row Records at the time. He wore it during his last public appearance, when he showed up at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 4, 1996. Before the auction, it was expected to be sold for $200,000 to $300,000. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“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 that is a testament to his enduring influence on Hip Hop,” Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s Global Head of Science and Popular Culture, told People. 

It’s not the first time Drake has worn pieces from a hip-hop legend. Earlier this year, in the music video for his song “Jumbotron Shit Poppin” he rocked several items that once belonged to Pharrell Williams. According to Vanity Fair, Drake showed off $2.6 million worth of jewelry that Williams had sold on his online platform Joopiter, including a 14-karat, three-tone N.E.R.D. pendant chain.

“Tupac’s gold crown ring is a creation purely from his imagination, tooled and re-tooled according to the icon’s specifications until perfect. Reflecting his recent affinity for Niccolo Machiavelli’s political manifesto The Prince—Tupac would start going by “Makaveli” after reading The Prince while incarcerated—Tupac modeled his design after the crowns of the medieval kings of Europe in ‘an act of self-coronation,’” Fula said, according to Sotheby’s.

The rapper’s bespoke jewelry piece was sold as part of a sale of hip-hop artifacts that included letters from Tupac and a demo tape of his single “Trapped.” The auction was held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the musical art form and included memorabilia from other pioneers of the genre including Mos Def, De La Soul, and Wu-Tang Clan. 

The sale isn’t the only reason Tupac is back in the headlines. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department recently executed a search warrant at the home of a man who said he witnessed the  1996 drive-by shooting that claimed the icon’s life, ABC News reported. Magazine articles about the rapper’s life and death were among the items removed from the residence.

This article first appeared on Rob Report.