Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last few weeks or even just today then you will know that last night, Sunday April 15th 2012, the long awaited and hugely anticipated US stage reunion of Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg took place as the finale to the first weekend of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival drew to a close.
The anticipation and hype over the performance was at fever pitch as the curtain drew on the nights performance but few could have expected what unfolded as the two icons were reunited with another…Tupac.
The slain MC was resurrected via the power of modern technology to appear via hologram in front of the packed out 75,000 strong crowd. The shock of the audience was quickly moved to energy as he delivered “Hail Mary” before Snoop Dogg appeared alongside him in the flesh to perform “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted.” The holographic tecnhology was done in a way that made the duo seem to be interacting as they had on stage together more than 16 years previously.
It had been rumored in the build up that Nate Dogg – who died a little over 12 months ago – would appear as a hologram, however TMZ; who spoke with Daz Dillinger, explained that the decision was made at the last minute not to use him and to do a video tribute instead with Kurupt and Warren G paying tribute during the posse cut “Ain’t No Fun.”
Countless sources have reported that AV Concepts – who were behind the technology that brought Tupac back to life in Hologram form – said that Dr. Dre had the vision for the hologram and worked with them for months on the idea, paying a figure believed to be between $200-400,000 himself.
Afeni Shakur – Tupac’s mother who is notoriously protective of her sons image rights and estate – gave her blessing to the idea while Dr. Dre also donated to The Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation.
After the Tupac performance Dre and Snoop rocked the huge crowd with hit after hit before welcoming to the stage countless artists from across both their careers including Eminem [for “I Need a Doctor,” “Forgot About Dre” and “Till I Collapse.], Wiz Khalifa [for “In the Air Tonight/Young, Wild & Free”], 50 Cent and Tony Yayo [for “What Up Gangsta,” “P.I.M.P. (Remix) and “In Da Club”] and Kendrick Lamar [for “The Recipe“].
Combined with the former Death Row inmates the duo showcased a combined career span of well over two decades of constantly evolving, constantly relevant material.
We have images from the show, courtesy of the LATimes as well as video of the Tupac Hologram & Snoop Dogg performances below – enjoy and spread the landing page link!
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg & Tupac @ Coachella 2012 Photo and Video (Event Gallery)
Huge S/O to everyone behind the Coachella 2012 performance…”Up In Smoke: The Sequel” anyone?
