One of the first recordings of a teenage Pac — pre-Death Row, pre-All Eyez on Me — is now up for the highest bidder
Long before Death Row, platinum plaques, and global icon status, Tupac Shakur was just a hungry teenager recording rhymes in a basement. Now, one of those earliest moments is headed to the auction block.
Hip-hop history doesn’t come around often — but when it does, it hits different. A rare pre-fame demo tape from Tupac Shakur, recorded when he was just 16 years old, is officially being auctioned to the highest bidder, offering collectors and fans a chance to own one of the earliest known recordings of Pac ever captured .
The cassette dates back to 1988, years before 2Pacalypse Now and light-years before All Eyez on Me. At the time, Tupac was going by MC New York, recording raw acapella verses with his early group Born Busy. There’s no polish, no radio hooks — just a young Pac sharpening his voice, already showing flashes of the urgency and conviction that would define his legacy .
Captured Before the Legend
The tape was recorded in the Baltimore basement of producer Ge-ology’s family home, originally meant as a reference so beats could be built around Tupac’s rhymes. Instead, it became an accidental time capsule — possibly the earliest surviving audio of Tupac Shakur in existence .
Included with the cassette are pieces of Pac’s early life: handwritten lyrics, school materials, and archival photos, giving context to the artist before the myth, before the controversies, before the spotlight .
When and Where
The tape is being auctioned as part of the GE-OLOGY Collection through Wax Poetics, a respected name in music archiving and culture preservation. Bidding opened on January 14, 2026, and will run through February 11, 2026, with the final price expected to climb into serious collector territory .
Why It Matters
This isn’t just rap memorabilia — it’s hip-hop DNA. It captures Tupac before fame shaped him, before the industry framed him, when he was simply a young MC with something to say and the hunger to say it loud.
Whoever wins this auction won’t just own a tape — they’ll own a moment from the very beginning of one of hip-hop’s most important voices.
