This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/20/2017
Tupac Shakur is considered by many to be one of the greatest and most influential hip hop artists in history. An outspoken, thoughtful rapper who crossed over to mainstream celebrity with turns in films such as Above the Rim and Juice, Tupac accomplished more in his 25 years of life than most people do in a lifetime.
Tupac began his career as a member of the group Digital Underground, appearing mainly as a back up dancer and vocalist, before releasing his debut album, 2Pacalypse Now. With songs such as “Brenda’s Got a Baby” and “Trapped”, 2Pacalypse Now helped Tupac reach a level of stardom few West Coast rappers achieved. Before long, Tupac landed his first starring film role in Juice, playing the antagonist, Roland Bishop. In 1994, he appeared in another starring role in Above the Rim, a tale of basketball and crime, taking the role of another antagonist, Birdie. A former basketball star turned drug dealer, Tupac’s frighteningly charismatic performance stole the show, earning rave reviews from critics. He also contributed this song, “Pain”, to the soundtrack, which along with the Warren G and Nate Dogg song “Regulate”, helped the soundtrack achieve double-platinum status. Ominously, “Pain” played during one of the climactic scenes of the movie, when the character Bugaloo, played by a young Marlon Wayans, ran up on Birdie and murdered him in the club.
Originally, the supervising producer of the soundtrack, Dr. Dre, rejected “Pain” for inclusion in the film. However, after hearing a remix of the song, Dre made the astute decision to reverse course and include the song in the film. This remix would go on to become one of the most influential West Coast rap songs of the 1990s, and a foundation for Tupac’s inclusion in the 2017 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Offered here are two 8 1/2 x 11 inch pages of handwritten lyrics to “Pain” that represent the original draft of the song. Written in black and blue pen on notebook paper, these lyrics provide an intimate glimpse into the songwriting process of one of the greatest lyricists to ever walk the earth. The lyrics are the full released version of the song, and are some of the most heartbreaking and emotional bars written by Tupac. The first page features Tupac’s first verse, while the second page features the third verse of the song, also performed by Tupac. Tupac rapped these identical lyrics in the remixed version, with the only difference being an added second verse written and rapped by Stretch.
The two pages are in excellent condition, with the only detraction being slight bleeding on the first page. However, this bleeding does not cause any lyrics to be unreadable. “Pain” is written in black pen on the top of each page. The first verse is written in black and blue pen, with the second verse written solely in black pen. Each page of lyrics comes with an individual LOA from JSA (first verse: Z17646, second: Z17649).