Dr. Dre envisioned the concept of having a virtual version of the late rap star Tupac Shakur appear as part of his epic rap-legend concert line-up at the Coachella Valley Music Festival in California in April, 2012. Working with Geronimo Productions, The Yard Entertainment and Digital Domain, Dre created a five-minute ‘live’ performance of 2Pac – a completely believable, computer-generated likeness of Tupac Shakur. The illusion created was that ‘Virtual 2Pac’ was on stage with Dre and Snoop for 2 exclusive, original performances on April 15 and April 22.

The goal with ‘Virtual 2Pac’ was to create something truly mind blowing for fans. 48 hours after the first show, YouTube videos of the live performance (since removed) amassed 10 million+ views. In the week following the second performance, it was reported that 2Pac album sales increased 500%, that 4,000 copies of his 'Greatest Hits' album sold, and that his song 'Hail Mary' sold 13,000 downloads — a 1,500% gain in a week. Days after the performance, Digital Domain’s share price rose 50%, with volume increasing by 2,700%. Between April 15 and 22, there was a 500% increase in visits to the 2Pac website and fan acquisition rose by 78%. Days after releasing a video of the performance on his YouTube channel, Snoop Dogg jumped nearly 10 spots to number 20 on the Social 50 — a ranking of the most popular artists on YouTube, Vevo, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

‘Virtual’ 2Pac made 2 exclusive appearances at the live outdoor Coachella Valley Music Festival, on April 15 and April 22, 2012, as part of Dr. Dre’s and Snoop Dogg’s sold-out sets to an estimated 90,000 fans at each show.