Extremely rare photos of Lawrence “Loupy D” Dotson from the release party of 2Pac’s 2Pacalypse album are going on sale as NFT.
17 of the 18 NFTs will be original photos of Tupac Shakur, where the 18th is a “Super NFT” collage containing the other 17 photos. Each NFT will be provided with a framed photo print signed by Dotson and a portion of the proceeds will be used to plant trees in Pac’s hometown of Marin County, California via 100K Trees for Humanity.
Dotson explained in a statement that he ended up at the 1992 release party shortly after meeting the late rapper at a bar. The hip-hop journalist and photographer was still in career growth at the time and was able to give 2Pac a copy of a magazine where he had written the cover, and the rapper started discussing an article about misogyny in hip-hop, noting that “the community had to gather to stop all the self-hatred they were inflicting on each other in music.” Pac then invited Dotson to the release party:
“I bought a disposable 35mm black and white camera from Thrifty’s on the corner of La Brea and Rodeo. Later that night I arrived at Glam Slam, Prince’s old club on downtown Boylston Street and where the liberation party was held. I liked the energy he put on stage as a backup dancer for Digital Underground; the same with his performance in the video when he threw the verse on the same song. I knew he was going to give up that night for his debut party. Surprisingly, there were not many people on the show: mostly industry executives and some leaders from the undercover community. Now, I am happy that after staying behind the negatives all these years, I have the opportunity to release them through an NFT. This technology is exciting for artists. ”
Photos from the available film camera were developed, but Dotson never published them and only showed them to his polite students during his time as substitute teacher. In addition to selling them as NFT, he is also looking to “create a traveling collection exhibition” so the rest of the world can see it.
“When you look at these pictures, you can see it in his eyes: determination, passion, courage, brilliance,” Dotson told the media. “These photos show a human side that many people could not see. This’ Pac was not covered in jewelry and Versace, 2Pac was humble and hungry. “He knew what he was going to do on stage that night and return to the legend he is.”
