Rare Early Tupac Recording Heads to Auction Through Wax Poetics

Before stadium crowds, platinum albums, and global fame, Tupac Shakur was just a teenager with a sharp pen and something to say. One ordinary day in 1988, that voice was captured on a cassette recorder in a family home in Baltimore. Nearly four decades later, that moment is finally stepping into the spotlight.

Wax Poetics has launched a landmark auction featuring an extraordinary archive from the personal collection of producer and artist Ge-ology. At the center is one of the earliest known recordings of Tupac, taped when he was only sixteen years old.

The cassette was recorded at Ge-ology’s family home and features Tupac, then known as MC New York, performing acapella with members of his Born Busy group. There are no studio tricks or polished hooks. It is raw, focused, and full of promise.

This is hip-hop history frozen in real time, long before Tupac became a household name.

The auction goes far beyond the demo. It includes handwritten lyrics, personal photographs, and snapshots of everyday life, from backyard parties to school events. One standout item is a signed 1988 graduation banner from a barbecue held shortly before Ge-ology moved to New York City.

Together, these pieces paint a picture of young artists growing up, dreaming big, and creating wherever they could.

Ge-ology, who shared a close and lasting bond with Shakur, sees the collection as something bigger than keepsakes.

“This wasn’t meant to be a performance or a release. We were recording acapellas so I could learn the rhymes and build the beats around them,” he added. “That tape is one of the earliest moments of Tupac being documented, before the world knew who he was. I’ve protected it for decades, and now it feels right for it to be shared properly, as history.”

Alex Bruh, CEO of Wax Poetics, said the timing and origin make the archive especially powerful, as reported by Hypebeast.

“When it comes to music collecting it doesn’t get much bigger than Tupac. The fact that this tape and these items are from Tupac’s pre-fame years, and directly from his childhood friend Ge-ology, makes them even more special and incredibly rare,” said Bruh. “It’s an honour to be able to present these items and shine a light on another less-documented part of Tupac’s story.”

The auction is live now and open for bidding through February 11. For fans, collectors, and students of hip-hop, it offers a rare chance to connect with Tupac at the very beginning, when history was still being written on a cassette tape.