An autograph letter from Tupac Shakur was among the highlights in Bonhams' Entertainment Memorabilia sale in Los Angeles on March 1, with a final bid of $15,000.

It was written in 1995, while the rapper was incarcerated at the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York on a sexual assault charge.  

Tupac Shakur was among the biggest stars of the 1990s

It also touches on a 1994 shooting that took place outside a Brooklyn recording studio, in which he was injured.

He writes: "I got set up by Stretch and / some Brooklyn niggaz to take this rape charge / then when I caught on they tried 2 kill me / but u know I'm hard 2 kill so I'm still here ... I thought Stretch was / my man but when the shit got hot he / dissed me & let me get shot up!"

There has been growing resurgence of interest in Tupac's life and career of late, with a major biopic due to begin filming later this year.

Catherine Williamson, Bonhams' director of entertainment memorabilia, commented prior to the sale: "The popularity of the music and writings of Tupac Shakur continues to grow, and memorabilia of any kind relating to the rapper is exceedingly rare at auction."

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