Temple University to receive 500,000 items from the Tupac Shakur collection

Items owned by Tupac Shakur have been donated to Temple University.

The late hip-hop legend’s possessions – including a bullet-dented gold medallion he was wearing when he was shot five times in 1994 – will be displayed at the school’s campus at the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection.

As reported by Billboard, the collection is made up of around 500,000 items, and it’s a fitting place for them to be shown.

Aaron Smith, a Professor of Africology and African American Studies, teaches a Tupac class at the university, and he said: “For a hip-hop head, this is truly a dream come true.” Goldin Auctions has donated around a dozen items that belonged to the ‘Ghetto Gospel’ star, including handwritten lyrics for songs like ‘It Ain’t Easy’ and ‘I Ain’t Mad At Cha’.

Also in the collection is handwritten track listings for unreleased records the rapper was working on before his tragic death in a still-unsolved drive-by shooting.

Smith has noted how important jewelry is in Tupac’s story, and a diamond earring he wore on the cover of ‘All Eyez On Me’ is another exciting inclusion. The professor added: “There is a lot of mystery around Tupac and his jewelry, To have some of [it] here means a whole lot.”

Meanwhile, the collection’s curator has added that she hopes the whole collection will have more of a focus on hip-hop culture thanks to the new additions.

Diane Turner explained: “This is just the beginning of a long journey to collect and preserve hip-hop culture.”