Last month the news was released that one of the greatest figures in hip-hop culture, rap artist Tupac Shakur (2Pac) would be immortalized in wax at the world-famous Madame Tussauds in Las Vegas at the Venetian Hotel.

The unveiling of the sculpture will be on April 5, 2006 during a special ceremony commencing at 11:00 A.M. at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.

The wax portrait of Tupac is being sculpted by Jeni Fairey of The Tussauds Studios based in London. Unlike the bronze statue that was unveiled at the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts (TASCA) Peace Garden in Stone Mountain Georgia, which portrays Tupac the man in a suit; the wax sculpture will be based on the now-iconic hip-hop / rap ‘Thug Life’ image of a shirtless rap artist Tupac (2Pac) sporting a bandana and proudly displaying his tattoos.

Thanks to Amaru we are proud to give you a ‘sneak’ peek at the sculpture through a few photos of it being sculpted.

The Tupac wax figure is being created from hundreds of photographs and measurements provided to Madame Tussauds by Tupac’s mother, Afeni Shakur Davis. Each of Tupac’s tattoos will first be redrawn and then individually hand-painted onto the sculpture.

The finished figure of Tupac will take months to complete, involving more than 700 hours of work and over 330 pounds of clay. The entire figure will weigh around 55 pounds. To put Tupac in his own environment, Madame Tussauds is in negotiations with 2Pac’s old label, Interscope Records, to obtain original music from Tupac’s world and add a further layer of reality to the unique “Tussauds experience.”

To commemorate the historic 10th Anniversary of Tupac’s (2Pac) murder, Madame Tussauds is considering sending the new wax figure on its own world tour later this year. Once it has been viewed at the Las Vegas museum, the sculpture may travel to the museums in New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai and London before it will be exhibited at the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts (TASCA) in Atlanta for a full month. The figure is scheduled to arrive at the Center by the end of this memorial year.

The sculpture’s unveiling arrives nearly ten years after Tupac’s unsolved murder in Las Vegas and it will be exhibited for years to come.

Please visit the only ‘OFFICIAL’ web sites of Tupac at www.TASF.org and www.2PAClegacy.com  for more information on current TASF news. No need to ‘witness a rebirth of a legend’ as some are saying; when the Legend lives on and has never needed a rebirth. Tupac’s legend and legacy lives on in everything TASF and Amaru does, and in the hearts of his many loyal fans worldwide. And those claiming to be the only ones standing up for Tupac’s legacy are really ‘short changing’ Tupac’s mother, Afeni, and all the work she and the entire TASF staff are doing to preserve and promote Tupac’s Legacy for future generations. It seems disrespectful and self promoting to make such claims. Love Pac and experience him, don’t use him.

We of course will try our best to keep you updated on the events planned for this entire year. 2006 is going to be a great year for Tupac fans, with many events and scheduled released planned.

Thanks and respect to the Amaru camp for the pictures.

Hope you enjoy the pictures click HERE to see them.