Drake, a Canadian rapper, revealed Friday that he purchased a crown-shaped ring once owned by dead hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur, which sold at auction this week for a record $1 million.
Drake posted an Instagram story in which he was wearing the bauble, which sold at Sotheby’s on Tuesday for a total of $1.016 million, including commission and fees.
That was far over the pre-sale estimate of $200,000 to $300,000, making it the most costly hip-hop relic ever sold, according to the auction house.
Drake, the best-selling musician behind singles like “Hotline Bling” and “Nice For What,” has already spent lavishly, including purchasing a Boeing 767 for personal use and paying $104 million for a Los Angeles property once owned by singer Robbie Williams.
The ring was worn by the New York-born Shakur at his final public appearance on September 4, 1996, at the MTV Video Music Awards.
With 75 million records sold, he was widely recognized as one of the greatest rappers of all time before being shot dead by an unnamed gunman in Las Vegas just days later. He was 25.
Shakur, whose hits included “California Love,” crafted the ring over a few months, according to Sotheby’s.
He did it through his godmother, Yaasmyn Fula, who sold the ring.
A diamond-encrusted gold band sits atop a gold circlet with a central cabochon ruby surrounded by two pave-cut diamonds.
Shakur was influenced by Niccolo Machiavelli’s political treatise “The Prince,” which he read while imprisoned on sex assault allegations in the 16th century.
According to Sotheby’s, he based the design on the crowns of medieval European kings.
