2Pac has been the subject of countless inauthentic crossovers, from photoshopped images to false claims of friendship, but Tony Hawk has shared a long-lost picture he took with the late rapper years ago.
On Sunday (August 13), the retired skateboarder posted a photo on Instagram of him and the “California Love” hitmaker that was taken approximately three decades ago at the American Music Awards in the early ’90s, although it isn’t entirely certain which year.
AD LOADING...
Next to the picture, Hawk wrote: “My missing photo with Tupac: I attended the American Music Awards in 1991 because my sister was there performing with Michael Bolton. While backstage, I saw Tupac standing alone and I recognized him from Digital Underground (go listen to ‘Same Song’ for context).
“His first album had not dropped yet, and nobody else seemed to notice him. I took a picture of him and [Riley’s mom] Cindy, and I thought she took one of him and me. This was in the era of point-and-shoot film cameras so results were unreliable.”
AD LOADING...
He added: “Unfortunately I never found the photo once the roll was developed. But thanks to modern technology and maestro digital artist @_vemix_ , the image has materialized.
“And for the record: he was effusive and gracious during our brief encounter, more so than anyone else we met or bothered for pictures that night.”
The following day, Hawk added a note below his caption that read: “Edit: this might have been 1994 based on the AMA nominees that year. I’m so old that specific years get fuzzy. But the story remains the same.”
2Pac got his start as a roadie and background dancer for the Shock G-fronted Hip Hop group in 1990. Initially rapping under the moniker MC New York, he appeared on the 1991 Digital Underground track, “Same Song.” Months later, ‘Pac dropped his debut solo album 2Pacalyse Now, and the rest is history.
Last year, ‘Pac’s former bodyguard Kaiso Aaron Allen shared rare footage of the Hip Hop icon from his formative years on the road with Digital Underground.
AD LOADING...
“32 YEARS LATER REAR FOOTAGE OF ME AND TUPAC SHAKUR WHEN I WAS HIS PERSONAL BODYGUARD,” he wrote in the caption. “1990 I WAS CHUCK D BODYGUARD AND LATER BECAME TUPAC IN THE FEAR OF A BLACK PLANET TOUR. CHECK OUT A YOUNG PAC HE WAS DANCING WITH THE GROUP DIGITAL UNDERGROUND.”
Meanwhile, 2Pac’s long-dormant murder investigation has unexpectedly kicked back into life in recent weeks after Las Vegas police executed a search warrant in connection with his death last month.
The property cops searched belonged to Duane “Keefe D” Davis, a former Compton Crip who has admitted to playing a role in ‘Pac’s 1996 murder on numerous occasions. He is also the uncle of the rapper’s alleged killer, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson.
Various items were seized during the search, most notably .40 caliber bullets. However, it was reported last week that the bullets do not match the shell casings from the murder scene.
AD LOADING...
Whether that exonerates Keefe D from being charged as an accomplice remains to be seen.
