The world’s rarest album compiled by legendary American rap group, Wu-Tang Clan, has been scheduled to be displayed in public for the first time, at the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) in Tasmania, Australia.
The album, dubbed “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” was recorded in secret by the rap collective over six years ago. It is reportedly the most expensive album ever sold, with only one copy in existence. The album is Wu-Tang Clan’s seventh studio album.
The album is currently on loan to the Museum of Old and New Art for a limited listening session event, as part of its upcoming exhibition. Selected attendees will have the chance to listen to the album, played from a customised PlayStation 1 for 30 minutes. The listening sessions will be held from June 15 – June 24, 2024.
Read Also:
Before its loan to the museum, the album was first auctioned off to pharmaceutical entrepreneur Martin Shkreli in 2015 for $2 million, with the digital master files deleted, making it impossible to stream or download.
Join our WhatsApp Channel for more news
The US Department of Justice seized it from Shkreli in 2021, after he was convicted in 2017 for defrauding investors of more than $10 million, between 2009 and 2014. To pay off Shkreli’s debts, federal authorities sold the album to digital art collective Pleasr for $6 million.
Pleasr said in a statement that it was honoured to collaborate with MONA to support the Wu-Tang Clan’s vision of creating an album that would be housed in an art gallery.
”Ten years ago, the Wu-Tang Clan had a bold vision to make a single-copy album as a work of fine art, To put it in an art gallery … make music become a living piece like a Mona Lisa or a sceptre from Egypt,” Pleasr said.
“Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” is a 31-track rap album enclosed in a nickel-silver box designed by British-Moroccan artist Yahya.
The album was recorded between 2006 and 2013, to make a statement against the rise of online streaming. The group decided to house it in a hand-carved nickel box instead of a compact disc, with the lyrics in an accompanying leather-bound manuscript. The album is bound by a legal agreement preventing its commercial release until the year 2103.
Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop collective formed in New York City in 1992. The group never signed with a major label, but their dark funk style drew attention from the New York City rap scene. The group’s name was inspired by the philosophies of Kung Fu films and comic books. The group’s members include RZA, GZA, Inspectah Deck, Method Man, Raekwon the Chef, Ghostface Killah, U-God, Masta Killa, and Capadonna.
