Tupac Shakur exhibit to open Feb. 2 at Grammy Museum

Anyone longing to get an up-close-and-personal look at the Versace suit that rapper Tupac Shakur wore to the 1996 Grammy Awards ceremony, or to inspect the tape box and studio notes from the first recording session that Shakur did after being released from prison, will get the chance at “All Eyez on Me: The Writings of Tupac Shakur,” a new exhibition on the rapper’s life and music opening Feb. 2 at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

“Tupac Shakur was one of the most original and important of all hip hop artists. His writings are both powerful and provocative,” Grammy Museum Executive Director Robert Santelli said in a statement. “It is an honor to be the first music museum to acknowledge Tupac’s legacy and to bring context to what was an incredible career.”

The exhibit also will include Shakur’s handwritten notes, lyrics and poems, along with interview and performance footage, and other outfits he wore. All these items were supplied by the Tupac Shakur estate overseen by his mother, Afeni Shakur.

“It means a lot to me that Bob Santelli and the Grammy Museum have chosen to honor my son with their upcoming exhibit of his works,” she said in the same statement. “Tupac’s writings are an honest reflection of his passions for, and about life. His timeless messages have instilled hope for those who have little, and for others, they serve as a catalyst for change. His words continue to motivate and inspire new generations.”

The show, which takes its title from Shakur’s 1996 album, is slated to run through April 22 and will examine both his solo career and his work with the hip hop collective Digital Underground.

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