SAY WHAT?!?!? Okay okay, so I get it…Tupac hologram at Coachella…WE KNOW! Relax, this post isn’t just linking a video to this year’s Coachella performance featuring a life-like hologram of late rapper Tupac Shakur (RIP)…

So, I heard courtesy of Flow 93.5 Toronto, that while Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg were so on-board with the idea that they now want to take that hologram on tour, quite a few people were upset with the hologram, claiming that they should ‘Let the dead rest’ and ‘What’s next? Whitney? MJ?’ While I respect the fact that this should stop if the families are offended or if it did not receive the reaction it did at Coachella, but this technology is the beginning of what will allow generation after generation to experience an artist’s stage ‘presence’.

The life-like moves of Shakur’s hologram on stage, from the crotch-grabbing to the now common dance move, ‘the body bounce (4:02), it electrified the Coachella crowd, who for some, may have been too young to have the chance to see him live on stage.

After having some time to reflect, all this is, is a take on an art form that has been in existence for a little while. Have you heard the Notorious BIG and Frank Sinatra’s audio mash-ups? Jay-Z and The Beatles’ ‘Grey Album’? ‘The Biggie Duets?’…All this is doing is adding a visual component in keeping an artist’s image AND voice alive!

This is the beginning of how fans and the entertainment world are going to begin paying tribute to their inspirations and their heroes. Those who are mad can stay mad and don’t have to go to the performances OR watch it on television…BUT…

For those generations who, at one point, would only ‘know’ these artists through hearing songs like, ‘Juicy’, ‘Changes’, ‘California Love’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘I Will Always Love You’ can now appreciate what made those artists legends.

From their movements to putting a body and face to the voice, I am a fan of this technology. Who knows…it’s only a matter of time before 2Pac and Biggie Smalls are dancing in house parties all over the world!

You can see the performance by clicking here

JT

Follow me @JindianTiger