Martin Shkreli

Ownership History of Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin

The album’s previous owner Martin Shkreli made it known he would keep the album to himself. At the time, he simply wanted to tease Hip-Hop fans by never sharing any of the songs with Wu-Tang fans. Wu-Tang Clan member RZA even shared that he regrets selling the album to Martin Shkreli in hindsight.

Upon news of the US Government sharing images of the Wu-Tang Clan’s exclusive Once Upon a Time in Shaolin album, we also heard the motivation of the new owners. Jamis Johnson, the Chief Pleasing Officer of PleasrDAO, expressed, “This beautiful piece of art, this ultimate protest against middlemen and rent-seekers of musicians and artists, went south by going into the hands of Martin Shkreli, the ultimate internet villain.”

Wu-Tang Clan Logo

How much would you pay to hear this mysterious album? It’s crazy to think that there’s an unheard album in the discography of such an iconic rap group. Read more of FM Hip-Hop’s featured articles today.

The new owners of Wu-Tang Clan’s “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” have revealed themselves. They are planning on sharing the record with the world.

The owners revealed

A group of 74 crypto fans named PleasrDAO had bought the record from the government for $4 million. The group is known for purchasing “digital collectibles honoring anti-establishment rebels.” Unlike the previous owner, Martin Shkreli, These people are planning to do more with it than maybe rarely listen to it. PleasrDao is planning on sharing it with the world.

When Shkreli had bought the album, he had the following to say. “I could be convinced to listen to it earlier if Taylor Swift wants to hear it or something like that. But for now, I think I’m going to kind of save it for a rainy day.”

“This beautiful piece of art, this ultimate protest against middlemen and rent-seekers of musicians and artists, went south by going into the hands of Martin Shkreli, the ultimate internet villain,” Jamis Johnson, PleasrDAO’s Chief Pleasing Officer, said.

https://twitter.com/PleasrDAO/status/1450860076294676487?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1450860076294676487%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.okayplayer.com%2Fnews%2Fthe-owners-of-the-one-of-a-kind-wu-tang-album-once-upon-a-time-in-shaolin.html

Shkreli is an objectively terrible person. He had raised the price for Daraprim, an anti-parasitic medicine, from $13.50 to $750 per pill in 2015. He had bought the album for $2 million in an auction. In 2017, he was found guilty on two counts of securities fraud. He also faced 7 years of prison time and had to give up the album to pay the 7.4 million in fines.

When the Wu-Tang Clan learned who had purchased the album, RZA said: “The sale of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin was agreed upon in May, well before Martin Skhreli’s [sic] business practices came to light. We decided to give a significant portion of the proceeds to charity.”

What comes next?

The album allegedly features appearances from the entire Wu-Tang Clan, Cher, and Redman. The album has two CDs held in a silver jewel-encrusted box. The box has a wax Wu-Tang Clan seal and leather-bound liner notes.

Discussions with RZA and producer Cilvaringz will need to take place on how to share the album. They are unable to commercially release it until the year 2103.

This 31 track album is on hold but building buzz. Check out more on hip hops gems @FMHipHop: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

Written by Justin Acosta

Twitter: @hahalacka

Ownership History of Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin

The owners revealed

What comes next?