It isn’t often that an entire genre of music celebrates a significant birthday, but 2023 has brought with it one such milestone. This year marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, which has been celebrated by everything from
a series of parties across New York City to
a high-profile event at Sotheby’s. At the latter, a host of items that have a played a significant role in hip-hop’s history were made available at auction — including
clothing,
artwork and the
equipment used to make classic records.
There were also a number of items related to the life and career of Tupac Shakur — including
a distinctive crown-shaped ring featuring gold, rubies and diamonds. Sotheby’s estimated that the ring would sell for between $200,000 and $300,000. As it turns out, the actual figure was significantly higher.
As
ARTnews reports, the high bid for the ring was $1.02 million. When news of the sale broke, the buyer’s identity remained a secret — at least it did until Drake posted an image of himself with the ring as an Instagram story. Soon enough, Sotheby’s confirmed that Drake was the buyer.