Tony Hawk is as much a pop culture icon as any, so it goes without saying that he’s crossed paths with plenty of others with the level of fame that he has, if not more. The skating legend recently shared a rare photo alongside the late Tupac “2Pac” Shakur that Hawk had digitally restored.
Tony Hawk, 55, shared the image of him and 2Pac, telling a story of how he attended an American Music Awards ceremony because his sister was performing with singer Michael Bolton. While he initially stated that the year of the photo in question was 1991, he corrected it and said that it could be from 1994.
From Tony Hawk’s IG:
I attended the American Music Awards in 1991 because my sister was there performing with Michael Bolton. While backstage, I saw Tupac standing alone and I recognized him from Digital Underground (go listen to “Same Song” for context). His first album had not dropped yet, and nobody else seemed to notice him. I took a picture of him and [Riley’s mom] Cindy, and I thought she took one of him and me. This was in the era of point-and-shoot film cameras so results were unreliable. Unfortunately I never found the photo once the roll was developed. But thanks to modern technology and maestro digital artist @_vemix_ , the image has materialized.
Hawk went on to say that 2Pac was “effusive and gracious” after meeting briefly, adding that he was the most gracious with his time out of the celebrities he met at the time. Later in the caption of the post, Hawk corrected the timeline to say the photo might be from the 1994 AMAs. If the photo was taken in 1991, 2Pac made his debut in the fall of that year with the album, 2Pacalypse Now.
—
Photo: Getty
HipHopWired Radio
Our staff has picked their favorite stations, take a listen…