Lawrence “Loupy D” Dotson’s extremely rare photos from 2Pac‘s 2Pacalypse album release party are going on sale as NFTs.
17 of the 18 NFTs will be original photos of Tupac Shakur, with the 18th being a “Super NFT” collage that features the other 17 photos. Each NFT will be offered with a framed print of the photo signed by Dotson and a part of the proceeds will be used to plant trees in Pac’s hometown of Marin County, California via 100K Trees for Humanity.
Dotson explained in a statement that he ended up at the 1992 release party shortly after meeting the late rapper at a bar. The hip-hop journalist and photographer was still on the rise at the time and was able to give Pac a copy of a magazine where he had written the cover story, and the rapper began to discuss an article about misogyny in hip-hop, noting that “the community had to come together to stop all the self-hatred they were inflicting on one another in the music.” Pac then invited Dotson to the release party:
“I bought a disposable, black and white 35mm camera from the Thrifty’s on the corner of La Brea and Rodeo. Later that night I got to Glam Slam, Prince’s old club on Boylston Street downtown and where the release party was held. I couldn’t wait to see this brotha perform. I loved the energy he put out on stage as a backup dancer for Digital Underground; the same with his performance in the video when he dropped the verse on Same Song. I knew that he was going to give it up that night for his debut release party. Surprisingly, there weren’t many people at the show: mostly industry execs and a few heads from the underground community. Now, I am happy that after hanging on to the negatives throughout the years, I have the opportunity to release them via an NFT. This technology is exciting for artists. ”
The photos from the disposable film camera were developed but Dotson never published them, and only showed them to his well-behaved students during his time as a substitute teacher. In addition to selling them as NFTs, he is also looking to “create a traveling exhibit of the collection” so the rest of the world can see.
“[W]hen you look at these photos you can see it in his eyes: the determination, the passion, the swagger, the shine,” Dotson told Rolling Stone. “These photos show a side of the man not many people got to see. This ‘Pac wasn’t covered in jewels and Versace; this ‘Pac was humble and hungry. He knew what he going for on stage that night, and that was to become the legend that he is.”
Take a look at the NFTs on OpenSea.
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