Would you pay millions of dollars to be the only owner of a super secret and exclusive album? Upon purchasing said Wu-Tang relic, would you then become an integral part of Shoalin history? Would you become so consumed with protecting the only existing copy of the record that you lock yourself in a safe in constant paranoia that every single person you make eye contact with is attempting to steal it from you?
We’re about to find out. In an , RZA revealed that one lucky (and incredibly rich) super-fan can be the owner of a 31-track previously unreleased LP from the Wu. “The Wu — Once Upon a Time in Shoalin” was co-produced by RZA and Cilvaringz and features special appearances from Red Man and more.
See our photos below of Wu-Tang Clan at Bonnaroo Music Festival 2013 below.
“The music industry is in crisis. Creativity has become disposable and value has been stripped out,” the band . “Mass production and content saturation have devalued both our experience of music and our ability to establish its value. Industrial production and digital reproduction have failed. The intrinsic value of music has been reduced to zero. Contemporary art is worth millions by virtue of its exclusivity. This album is a piece of contemporary art.”
As such, the album, which RZA compares to an Egyptian king’s scepter, will be toured across the world to museums and only played through headphones to protect from piracy.
The lucky owner will be presented the LP in a hand-carved, nickel-silver box designed by British Moroccan artist Yahya. Musically, the group says the sound will be dark and abstract, employing the sonic enjoyment that helped build the Wu’s cult following. The double-LP spans six years of the Wu-Tang Clan material.
Read RZA’s
This (kind of) marks Wu-Tang Clan’s second album to be released this year. The legendary hip-hop crew which apears to be
Follow our news and updates on , our relationship status on and our search history on . Or send us a telegram.
Ru Johnson is an arts and culture music writer living in Denver. You can follow her on
