The estate of late rapper Tupac Shakur are teasing something mysterious called ‘1998’, with an expected date of this weekend.
Back in September, we passed the 22nd anniversary of the death of Tupac Shakur, who was shot and killed by an unknown assailant in Las Vegas. Since his tragic passing, six posthumous albums by the rapper have been released, along with numerous singles and compilation albums.
Yesterday, the official Tupac Shakur Instagram account posted a mysterious image that consists of little more than the words ‘1998’, and ‘Saturday 11/24’, understandably sending fans into a frenzy.
While the account is managed by the late rapper’s estate, fans have begun to wonder if this announcement may have something to do with the end of a prolonged legal battle last month.
As reported on The industry Observer last month, Shakur’s estate recently emerged victorious in a five-year legal battle that centred around the ownership of unreleased songs by the late artist.
Back in 2013, Tupac’s mother – Afeni Shakur – originally filed the lawsuit against Entertainment One, who she claimed had failed to pay royalties on the 2007 compilation album Beginnings: The Lost Tapes 1988–1991.
While Afeni claimed that Tupac’s estate was owed $1.1 million, it was noted that Entertainment One had purchased the rights to Tupac’s music from Death Row Records after the latter label went bankrupt back in 2006.
As a result, Entertainment One were also in possession of a cache of unreleased master recordings made by Tupac, something that his mother wanted returned to his estate.
Five years on from the lawsuit’s initial filing, Entertainment One were ordered to pay a six-figure amount to Shakur’s estate, and relinquish control of the unreleased master recordings.
Although the plans for these recordings were not made clear, it’s quite likely that they’ll end up on a new posthumous compilation – which ostensibly could be released this weekend if the Instagram post is to be interpreted that way.
Of course, some fans have also noted that November 24th happens to be the 20th anniversary of Tupac’s Greatest Hits album, and could involve a celebration of this iconic release.
Again, it’s not clear whether this weekend will see the announcement of a new posthumous album, or something related to Greatest Hits’ anniversary, but what is clear that fans of the late hip-hop icon will undoubtedly have his life and music on their minds this Saturday.
Check out Tupac’s ‘Changes’:
