Prison Letter “Is Thug Life Dead?” Offered for $225,000

$225,000 for five handwritten pages from behind bars: In early October 2015, memorabilia dealer Moments in Time offered a letter by Tupac for sale. As Rolling Stone reported, citing Complex, Tupac wrote the lines in 1995 at Clinton Correctional Facility (Dannemora) to Nina Bhadreshwar, a former employee of Death Row Records. At the time, he was serving nine months there following a conviction for sexual abuse.

Farewell to Violence, Drugs, and Pain

The text is titled “Is Thug Life Dead?”. In it, Tupac speaks about the record he wanted to make after his release and about parting with a life of violence, drugs, and pain. Vibe quotes: “I did not begin thug life, I personified it.” Black men from the ghetto went through developmental stages from “dustkicker” to “boss playa.” A “Boss Playa” is “a thinker, a leader, a builder.”

For the meaning of the term, see Thug Life: Meaning and Code. What became of the sale offer is documented in the October 2016 report.