Earlier today (September 15), Sotheby’s held its very first hip-hop memorabilia auction. Among the items auctioned were Slick Rick’s diamond eyepatch, Tupac’s high school love letters, Basquiat’s Rammellzee 12″ single, and the Notorious B.I.G.’s plastic crown. The headpiece was worn by Biggie in his final photo shoot before he was fatally shot in 1997. It sold at Sotheby’s for $594,750, although its original price tag was $6, as the New York Post points out.
Other items up for auction at tonight’s event were Salt-N-Pepa’s jackets from the “Push It” music video, Questlove’s drum kit, a private writing and studio session with Rakim, Prince Paul’s Casio RZ-1 and drum machine, prototypes of Drake Air Jordans, a 1987 concert poster for Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill, and more.
Read “Meet the Man Unapologetically Selling the Cars Biggie and Tupac Were Shot In” on the Pitch.