The ring was worn by Tupac Shakur to the 1996 MTV Music Awards, his last public appearance before his passing.
Drake paid an astounding $1.01 million for Tupac Shakur’s custom-made diamond, ruby, and gold crown ring at the Sotheby’s Hip-Hop auction.
In a Friday Instagram Story, the 36-year-old five-time Grammy Award winner disclosed that he had purchased the ring that had once belonged to the late rap legend.
As he promoted fellow rapper Travis Scott’s new album “Utopia,” Drake uploaded a picture of himself flashing the sparkler.
“UTOPIA out now meltdown,” the “Hotline Bling” singer captioned the photo.
In a news release announcing the sale, Sotheby’s noted that the winning offer for the ring was quadruple the high estimate of $300,000. The ring was “the only Hip Hop artifact to surpass $1 million,” according to the auction house, and it was “the most valuable Hip Hop artifact ever sold at auction.”
On September 4, 1996, Shakur wore the accessory to the MTV Video Music Awards. This was his last public appearance before he was fatally shot in a drive-by nine days later.
Shakur’s godmother and advisor Yaasmyn Fula, who served as a liaison between the recording artist and New York jewelers while he was developing the item, gave the ring to Sotheby’s.
Sotheby’s Global Head of Science & Popular Culture Cassandra Hatton said, “This one-of-a-kind, custom ring was meticulously designed by Tupac and is among the results of his boundless creative energy. It is a unique artifact from a time that is a testament to his lasting influence on both Hip Hop and global contemporary culture.
“We’re thrilled that this outstanding piece has begun a new era in the hands of another legendary artist,” said the gallery.
The unique ring has a diamond-studded gold band and is set with a central ruby cabochon and two pavé-cut diamonds on a gold circlet that represents the “crown.”
The words “Pac & Dada 1996” are engraved on the palm-facing side of the ring in memory of Pac’s fiancée Kidada Jones, with whom he became engaged a few months before he passed away.
As a symbol of his dedication to Jones, the “All Eyez on Me” rapper wore the ring on his left index finger.
The press release claims that after being released from jail in 1995 due to a sexual assault conviction and after signing a record deal with Death Row Records, Shakur made the ring to symbolize the start of a new chapter in his life.
The kings of medieval Europe and Niccol Machiavelli’s political treatise “The Prince,” which Shakur had read while he was imprisoned, served as the inspiration for the crown. According to the press release, the design was meant to be “an act of self-coronation,” and the ruby was specially chosen as the center jewel because it has traditionally been connected to royalty.
The ring, in Fula’s words, also served as “a celebration of survival through a tumultuous year in an oft tumultuous life.” She mentioned that Shakur was named after the indigenous revolutionary leader Tupac Amaru II of Peru and recounted how his mother, Afeni Shakur, who was born in New York, taught him the proverb “You are our black prince.” You are my miracle, and you will raise the profile of black people.