NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 25: Cappadonna, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, and Inspectah Deck perform live ... [+]
Fans can now enjoy and partially own the 88-year-concealed album through an affordable NFT
The surreptitious Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin maintains its advocacy for valuing music in the digital age. Under the ownership of PleasrDAO, the digital art collective, the album is now available to the public as an NFT for at least $1, highlighting a pivotal shift from its exclusive past.
PleasrDAO has teamed up with marketing and e-commerce platform Privy, as well as blockchain platforms Crossmint and Holograph, to distribute the encrypted album on Base, a Layer 2 blockchain network developed by Coinbase that offers a scalable, secure, and user-friendly environment for building decentralized applications.
In 2015, Martin Shkreli, infamously known for his actions in the pharmaceutical industry, purchased the Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin for $2 million at an auction. This sale, surrounded by controversy, included a contract restricting public release for 88 years.
Marked for an official release in 2103, a time the digital art collective playfully remarks in their X bio, “will come faster than you think.”
Shkreli, infamously slated as “pharma bro” for drastically raising the price of the life-saving drug Daraprim, had his assets, including the album, seized by the U.S. government following his 2017 conviction for securities fraud.
In 2021, PleasrDAO purchased the album from the U.S. government for $4 million. Since then, the esteemed digital art group has been exploring ways to democratize access to this sacred piece of music history.
For every dollar PleasrDAO receives from these sales, the 88 year waiting period for the album's full public release will be reduced by 88 seconds. While fans may be able to access the album for $1, they will be met with a five-minute sampler as the full length album’s accessibility remains discreet. Notably, cryptocurrency is not required to purchase the NFT, making it accessible to a wider audience.
PleasrDAO has made a name for itself by purchasing culturally important digital artworks, including the “Stay Free” NFT by Edward Snowden and the iconic Dogecoin
Speaking to the New York Times on Thursday, Camilla McFarland, a member of PleasrDAO, expressed the collective's goal of democratizing art access. “It’s always our intention,” she noted, “to take these original works of art and figure out a way, in honoring the original vision of the artist, to get it into the hands of the people.”
PleasrDAO's covert work with the Wu-Tang Clan to sell their album aligns with their mission to preserve the legendary group's artistic vision while making the art accessible to a broader audience.
DEL MAR, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 13: RZA (L) and Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang Clan perform during the ... [+]
Proceeds from the NFT sales will be shared with the Wu-Tang Clan and Wu-Tang Clan mastermind RZA and Cilvaringz, both producers of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, ensuring that the creators benefit from this innovative distribution method.
"Mass replication has fundamentally altered our perception of recorded music," stated RZA and Cilvaringz in a press release. They added, "The shift to digital universality and the disappearance of physical media have disrupted our emotional bond with music as an artwork and a personal treasure."
When news broke about the album's secretive nature and its 88-year restriction from the public, Method Man expressed his dissatisfaction with Cilvaringz. In a 2015 interview with HuffPost Live, he described the approach to the secret album as “gimmicky” and “weird.”
“Can’t stand Cilvaringz, by the way. ... Basically, I got tired of the questions about the album and not being in the know about what’s going on with the day-to-day things of this. It’s never us coming with the gimmicks,” he said.
“It’s always on the outside, a "B" Wu guy or somebody like that coming with some crap that’s just so gimmicky. It makes you scratch your head and say, ‘Why Wu-Tang?’ when it’s not Wu-Tang. It’s just one individual thinking he knows what’s best and just doing weird stuff, man. I think it’s just crazy weird.”
The "Bring the Pain" emcee went on to discredit the beat mixer, despite recognizing the album's existence. “Yes, I’m discrediting Cilvaringz, but I’m not discrediting the product. I’m just discrediting him and the way he made his move. I dug it at first, but when they start doing the whole 88-year thing and not explaining it to people, because there are a lot more dumb people than smart people. To a lot of people, it’s saying 88 years, you’re not going to be able to hear this album.”
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JULY 03: Ghostface Killah (L) and Method Man of the Wu-Tang Clan perform ... [+]
Reflecting on the album's tumultuous history, Wu-Tang Clan emcee Ghostface Killah expressed his disappointment over Shkreli's acquisition. In an interview with The Guardian, he remarked, “Very disappointed. Everybody was mad. But he won the auction and that was it. I just did my recordings, handed them in and that was all I had to do with it. I didn’t see no money from it. I never really heard the album, either.”
Despite the challenges, Ghostface Killah remains hopeful that fans will eventually get to experience the album, stating, “I guess you all will get a chance to hear it, one day. I don’t know. I don’t got nothin’ to do with that album. Zero!”
Fans currently have a rare chance to experience the album at the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart, Tasmania, where it is on display from June 15 to 24. PleasrDAO also recently conducted private listening sessions in New York, providing a select few with the opportunity to hear the album before its general release.
Earlier this month (June 10), PleasrDAO initiated legal proceedings against Martin Shkreli in a Brooklyn federal court, as reported by Pitchfork. The litigation accuses Shkreli of unauthorized reproduction and public performance of the album. PleasrDAO asserts that Shkreli contravened the forfeiture order mandating the album's preservation.
Shkreli has acknowledged publicly playing copies of the album, including a recent instance on X the day before the lawsuit was filed. PleasrDAO contends that these actions depreciate the album's worth and damage the collective's reputation and commercial potential. The lawsuit seeks an inventory and seizure of Shkreli's copies, alongside damages and other remedies.
