It’s been more than 20 years since Biggie and Tupac were murdered in drive-by shootings, but the slain rap rivals still take up more headlines than most living artists. There’s currently a 10-part drama series called “Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.” airing on USA, BET has launched a six-part documentary looking at the rise and fall of Death Row Records, and conspiracy theories devoted to Tupac chilling on an island in Cuba or Biggie having Nostradamus-like knowledge of 9/11 continue to dominate Twitter searches and tabloid pages alike.
Wallace, 64, claims that LAPD detectives investigating the murder do know who is responsible for the death of her son, also known at Notorious B.I.G., but a conspiracy prevents the case from ever.
Whether you believe the pair’s continued relevance is due to the timelessness of their music or evidence of our collective lust for all things morbid, the reality is millions of people are not quite ready to let Biggie and Tupac go. This is something 64-year-old Gary Zimet, the founder of Moments In Time, a seller of “original historical materials,” banks on. He is currently selling the GMC Suburban SUV in which Biggie was shot to death, 21 years ago tomorrow (March 9, 1997), for a cool $750,000. He’s also looking for a buyer for the BMW 7 Series in which Tupac was fatally wounded on September 7, 1996, for a bargain $1.5 million.
The vehicles are just two curios in Zimet’s large collection of bizarre and unbelievably morbid memorabilia. He’s also selling the only copy of the real Schindler’s List (acquired from the family of Itzhak Stern), the hearse that carried Dr. Martin Luther King’s body, and the copy of Double Fantasy that John Lennon unknowingly signed for his murderer Mark David Chapman just hours before his death. Depending on your perspective, Zimet is either someone interested in preserving history or a purveyor of spectacularly bad taste.
Pitchfork caught up with Zimet to ask how he came in possession of the Biggie and Tupac cars, who’s interested in buying them, and whether selling them is morally wrong.
Pitchfork: How does one come into contact with the car Biggie Smalls was murdered in?
Gary Zimet: Weirdly enough, a family purchased the SUV purely by chance and had no idea of its importance until several years later when they got a postcard from a detective in L.A. saying he needed the car returned for evidence. They had to give it up momentarily but later got it back.
Now, in the case of the Tupac murder car, it’s been fully restored and, unfortunately, all the bullet holes were done over and you can hardly tell it was a car used in a murder. However, with the Biggie car, although the doors were replaced [the LAPD cut off the original doors for evidence], there is a bullet hole still visible in the seatbelt! Fonelab android recovery.
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And you actually believe this is an item that will sell?
I acquired the Biggie car roughly a year ago, maybe a bit longer, and I am selling it on behalf of the family that owns the vehicle, who asked me to get involved as they could see I was already selling the Tupac car. The family has lowered their asking price from $1 million to $750,000 and although I’ve had interest, it’s not yet been sufficient enough to sell.
I know museums would love to have it, as they are currently building a hip-hop museum in New York City. Unfortunately, museums are perpetually broke. But look, eventually it will sell, no question. It’s just about finding the right buyer.
Shouldn’t these items be in police evidence somewhere? Why were you even able to track them down?
Biggie Death Pics
In the case of the BMW, it was originally a car leased by Death Row Records and the family that acquired it were sold it by a car dealer. The reality is, both of these cars were quickly sold on after the murders.
Now, the police know who murdered Tupac; it was a Southside Crip called Orlando Anderson, who is now dead. Therefore, holding on to the car makes little sense since this case is basically closed. Biggie’s killer is a lot more obtuse. My understanding is that because the L.A. police are almost certainly involved in Biggie’s killing, the case will never be officially solved.
What kind of buyer do these items attract?
I’ve had the Tupac car close to a year and a half now [without finding a buyer], but I’ve had really serious interest for it from a high-profile athlete based in Europe. You also get a lot of car collectors too and even hip-hop artists calling in [about the cars]. The interest I’ve had from rappers is maybe because they want to reclaim something from the past, I couldn’t tell you.
How did you get involved in this line of work?
Notorious B I G Death Photos
Frankly, it was the only way to make a living. I founded the business in 1979 and I first got the buzz after correspondence with Norman Rockwell [about acquiring some of his items]. The first major piece I recall selling was a handwritten letter from Jimmy Carter to his brother Billy, warning him not to go to Libya. It was signed “I love you, Jimmy,” and I believe it sold for $28K. I guess I enjoy the hunt.
Some would argue that selling this kind of memorabilia is disrespectful—that Tupac and Biggie were only kids when they were murdered, and that selling the cars they were murdered in isn’t appropriate. How do you respond to that kind of criticism?
Both these cars are of historical significance. You really have to look at this from a historical angle. If the car JFK got killed in ever went up for sale—and, unfortunately, it never will—it would bring in a minimum of $25 million.
I guess what I am asking is, what drives people’s need to own a car that still has bullet holes from a murder?
The fact these were cars that someone died in appeals to people. There is a curiosity there. Is it slightly morbid? Absolutely! Am I exploiting the families [of Biggie and Tupac]? Absolutely… not! How would I be exploiting them? Some would make that argument, but it isn’t how I feel. These are pieces of American history—just like the copy of the 13th Amendment I sold, which was signed by Lincoln, is a piece of American history.
Okay, pretend for a second I am someone with $2.25 million to spare. What would your pitch be to get me to buy both of these vehicles?
Historical memorabilia will always have a huge market, and Biggie and Tupac have been eulogized in death, as millions of people dream of going back to that era. This means that these cars are unique relics—museum pieces of great historical importance.