Legendary pro skateboarder Tony Hawk has broken his silence and addressed the controversy surrounding a photoshopped image that features him alongside iconic rapper 2Pac Shakur.
The image, which went viral on social media platforms, raised questions about its authenticity and the story behind its creation.
In an exclusive episode of the "Hawk Vs. Wolf Podcast," Birdman opens up about the image, shedding light on the motive, process, and thoughts on the unexpected amalgamation of two different worlds with the help of Fauxtographer Vemix.
However, as the image circulated, doubts arose about whether it was genuine or digitally altered.
Many speculated on the origins of the image and the potential motives behind its creation. Hawk, addressed the situation and set the record straight.
The 55-year-old acknowledged the audacity of the concept but found the fusion intriguing and ultimately decided to proceed with it.
He emphasized that the merged image was not intended to be disrespectful or to exploit 2Pac's legacy in any way.
Instead, he viewed it as a tribute to his skating career and 2Pac's influential impact on hip-hop culture.
Although the Birdman said he saw 2Pac in person at the AMA awards with his wife Cindy backstage, he still managed to take a photo of the legendary artist with Cindy.
Hawk thought his wife took a photo with him and 2Pac as well and mentioned that it had never developed since the good old days; photos needed to be passed on to a studio to have them printed with the negatives and other processes.
"Anyway, the photo didn't exist on the roll, and then I have been following for a long time Vemix, who is really cool uh kind of photoshop mashup artist who takes people, mostly legendary musicians, and sort of mashes up photos of them," he said. "Existing photos of them in different contexts, and he puts them together."
"He actually did one of Kurt Cobain and me and Francis, which was totally fake, but it looks real, and I thought that was kind of cool," he said.
Hawk then asked if Vemix could get a photo of 2pac from the same night and himself and put it together since he missed having a picture with 2pac.
Hence, he said he didn't miss the photo op as he was there the same night.
At the end of the day, Vemix created the photo of himself and 2pac and concluded that the year was 1994.