Holograms of artists at live concerts is quickly becoming a trend in multiple genres of music, especially Hip-Hop. The history of holograms in Hip-Hop goes back to 2005, when the virtual members of alternative rock/hip-hop band Gorillaz came to life on stage. During their scheduled performance at the 2005 Grammy’s, holograms of the virtual members appeared on stage, joined by Madonna in hologram form, being shortly followed by the live musicians and the real Madonna.

The next time a hologram was used in a live Hip-Hop performance, was in 2012 at Coachella music festival, where Tupac Shakur was brought back to life to perform with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. Tupac was killed in September, 1996, after a boxing match in Las Vegas, NV. The performance at Coachella was made possible by Digital Domain, due to a request from Dr. Dre for a virtual Pac to join him on stage. Although technically not a “hologram”, due to the fact that is was actually a 2-D image that was presented to look 3-D, it was the first time in nearly 16 years that anyone had seen the late Tupac on stage.

To follow up, one year later, two late Hip-Hop artists were brought back to life to grace the stage again. Both happened at the 2013 Rock the Bells concert in Los Angeles, CA. The first was Ol’ Dirty Bastard, of the Wu Tang Clan. The late rapper died of an accidental drug overdose in late 2004.

The other rapper who was brought back to life at the Rock the Bells concert, was Eazy-E, member of N.W.A. and founder of Ruthless Records. Eazy-E was one of the first gangster rappers in LA, and founded legendary group N.W.A. alongside Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and DJ Yella. Eazy-E was brought on stage during Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s set.

Another Hip-Hop legend who may have a return in the works is Notorious B.I.G. Biggie’s estate stated in 2016 that a hologram was soon to be in the works to keep his legacy alive. However, two and a half years later, and there has been no word on whether or not this project will ever be brought to life.There have been a few rumors of a newer artist who is said to become a hologram, XXXTentacion. The 20 year old was killed early this summer after visiting a motorcycle shop. Although news on this topic is slim, a short video has been leaked of this hologram.

With advancing technology, there is no limit to which artists will be brought to life next with holograms.