Tupac Shakur hologram steals show at US music festival

Sydney -  Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg used visual trickery to bring murdered rapper Tupac Shakur back on stage via a hologram that brought a spectacular end to the first weekend  of the annual music festival in California.

The high-definition projection of the gangsta rap icon has triggered a wave of social media debate.

Thousands in the crowd gasped as the shirtless Tupac - killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in 1996 - rose up on the stage, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

 â€œWhat up, Coachella?” the digitally revived Tupac shouted before launching into his classic single Hail Mary.

Remarkably life-like, down to his signature tattoos, Timberland boots and jewellery, the hologram stalked the stage, swapping phrases with Snoop Dogg and performing 2 of Amerikaz Most  Wanted, Come With Me, and Gangsta Party.

Then, Tupac’s image dissipated.

The stunt was the idea of long-time friend Dr Dre, who sought permission from Tupac’s mother before commissioning the San Diego company AV Concepts, with the help of James Cameron’s Oscar-winning digital production company Digital Domain, to recreate him.

“We worked with Dr Dre on this and it was Dre’s vision to bring this back to life,” Nick Smith, president of AV Concepts, told MTV.

‘‘It was his idea from the very beginning and we worked with him and his camp to utilise the technology to make it come to life,” Smith added.