Ever since Tupac made his wildly popular re-emergence at Coachella a few years ago, holograms have been a big thing in live performances. Eazy-E and Ol’ Dirty Bastard holograms surprised attendees at last year’s Rock the Bells. Tupac’s mom, Afeni Shakur, was "positively thrilled" about her son’s hologram, and the team behind the work has gotten a lot of positive attention. 

But the holograms aren’t just meant to drum of nostalgia. A recent performance by M.I.A. and a hologramed Janelle Monáe showed that they’re also being used by artists still in the land of the living. M.I.A. was performing at a launch event for Audi in New York City Thursday night, an event that was billed as a live collaboration with Monáe. It’s not the most impressive performance in the world, given that the two artists could technically perform together in the flesh. But it’s an interesting concept that we’ll probably see a lot more of this summer. 

(h/t Hypetrak)