The ring of Tupac Shakur reignites Kendrick Lamar feud And Drake. During a concert in Los Angeles last Wednesday, Lamar added a previously unreleased line to the anti-Drake track Euphoria: “Give it back to me and I’ll show you some respect.” The event shook the world of hip hop, especially because it was celebrating the end of slavery in the United States and on stage there were Dr. Dre, YG, Tyler, the Creator, Schoolboy Q And Steve Lacyas well as NBA stars and rival gangs.
Lamar accuses Drake, Canadian and the son of a white mother, of being an impostor in rap. The reference to Shakur’s ring, an iconic hip hop figure with over 75 million records sold, amplified the message. The ring, one of the most iconic pieces of jewelry of the genre, was purchased by Drake for $1.1 million at a Sotheby’s auction last summer, tripling its initial estimate. Drawn by Shakur shortly before his death, the jewelry celebrated her media company Euphanasia and engagement to Kidada Jones, daughter of Quincy Jones.
The 14-karat gold ring, featuring a crown studded with diamonds and rubies, was inspired by medieval kings and engraved with “Pac & Dada 1996.” Tupac wore it to the 1996 MTV Awards, his last public appearance before he was killed in a shootout between rival rappers in Las Vegas. Drake’s purchase of the ring infuriated Lamar, who considers himself Shakur’s musical heir. “The fact that Drake paid for these credentials didn’t sit well with many,” he explained Vikki Tobak, author of a 2022 essay on the topic, to the New York Times. Drake not only bought Tupac’s ring, but also jewelry designed by Pharrell Williams.
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Tobak had tried to display Tupac’s ring and Williams’ jewelry in the “Ice Cold” exhibit at the Museum of Natural History in New York to celebrate 50 years of hip hop. “It would have been important to make them accessible to the communities where that music was born,” she commented, criticizing Drake for privatizing songs that should have remained in the public domain.
