Fans at Coachella 2012 yesterday were shocked when a hologram of Tupac Shakur appeared on stage to perform “Hail Mary” and “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted” with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, as if he were really there in the flesh.

MTV chopped it up with Nick Smith, president of hologram creation company AV Concepts, who explained how the collaboration with Dr. Dre came to be. “We worked with Dr. Dre on this and it was Dre’s vision to bring this back to life,” he said. “It was his idea from the very beginning and we worked with him and his camp to utilize the technology to make it come to life.”

Smith remained mum on the details regarding the mechanics of the hologram, but said that it took nearly four months to create. A typical hologram can go for anywhere between $100,000 and $400,000, but Smith wouldn’t reveal how much it cost. Instead, he said that his company can recreate deceased persons and recreate them in the studio.

“You can take their likenesses and voice and … take people that haven’t done concerts before or perform music they haven’t sung and digitally recreate it,” he said.

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