Tupac Shakur’s earliest known demo recording is now officially available for purchase in New York, alongside handwritten lyrics from his teenage rap group Born Busy. The items are part of a rare archive assembled by his close friend and longtime collaborator Ge-ology. The unheard cassette dates back to around 1988 and was recorded in a basement in Baltimore. It features a 16 year old Tupac rhyming under the name MC New York with fellow crew members Gerard “Ge-ology” Young, Darrin K Bastfield, and Dana “Mouse” Smith.
What sets the tape apart is the way it came together. Rather than recording over completed instrumentals, the group reversed the usual process. Tupac laid down acapella verses first, allowing Ge-ology to later shape beats around his cadence and rhyme structure. According to Ge-ology, the recording was never intended for release. It was simply part of their early experimentation as young artists learning and developing their sound.
“This wasn’t meant to be a performance or a release,” Ge-ology explained in an interview tied to the auction launch. “That tape is one of the earliest moments of Tupac being documented, before the world knew who he was.”
Tupac Tapes Headed For Auction
After safeguarding the tape for decades, Ge-ology says he finally feels comfortable letting it be shared as an important cultural artifact. The auction is being hosted by Wax Poetics and officially launched on January 15. It follows the platform’s recent attention grabbing auction of a rare Mariah Carey demo from 1988.
For collectors and hip hop fans, the offering presents a rare look at Tupac in his formative years. It captures him long before he became one of the most influential and celebrated figures the genre has ever produced.
Interest in 2Pac memorabilia has continued to grow, with several items fetching major sums in recent weeks. One of the most notable examples is the BMW Tupac was riding in on the night he was shot, which recently went on sale for $1.75 million. As HNHH previously reported, the 1996 BMW 7 Series sedan has been nearly fully restored to its condition prior to the shooting and repainted, according to the official listing. The sale transforms a tragic chapter of hip hop history into a high end collector’s piece.
