Rumors that hip-hop mogul Jay Z and Roc Nation have purchased the music catalog of Tupac Shakur‘s unreleased material for $384 million are not true, Billboard has confirmed.
Exclusive: Tupac Estate Gets ‘Total Reset’: New Music and More on the Way
The false rumors began surfacing on social media Saturday (March 28) that Jay Z had purchased Shakur’s unreleased work from Entertainment One. Some reportsalso noted that a new album from the late rapper — titled And Now I Rise — would be released in 2016, with features by Snoop Dogg, Drake, Nas, The-Dream, DMX, Beyonce and Jay Z.
A representative for Roc Nation denies that any such acquisition has taken place.
As previously reported, however, there is new music and more on the way from Shakur, according to JAM Inc.’s Jeff Jampol, who oversees the late rapper’s estate.
As the 20th anniversary of the Shakur’s September 1996 death approaches, elements in the works include new apparel rolling out later in 2015, collections like a recent Grammy Museum exhibit showcasing his writing, and a biography by a “very serious writer” whose deal is being finalized, Jampol recently told Billboard.
Top of the list is the rapper’s creative work — “Almost an embarrassment of riches,” Jampol says, listing “unreleased music, released music, remixes, original demos, writings, scripts, plans, video treatments, poems.”
“Some of [the material] is in bits and pieces, some of it is complete; some of it is good, some of it needs work,” says Loma Vista Records head Tom Whalley, who signed Shakur to Interscope in 1991 and has explored much of the archive. “But I think the work that is left can be completed, and is worth his fans hearing.”