The only physical copy of the Wu-Tang Clan’s unreleased “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” goes to the Australian Museum of Old and New Art.
So far, few ears have heard Wu-Tang Clan’s seventh studio album. But next month, lucky MONA visitors may have the ability to listen to a portion of it.
In addition to exhibiting this famous piece of music history, MONA will even host private listening sessions of select tracks from the album between June 15 and 24. Tickets, which go on sale Thursday, are free – but limited availability is offered.
“Run, don’t walk, cause trouble, etc.” MONA wrote on Instagram Tuesday. The album might be a part of the Tasmanian Museum’s larger “Namedropping” exhibition, which opens next month.
“Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” has been called the rarest album on this planet.
After spending six years producing the 31-track double album, the multiplatinum hip-hop group auctioned off the one copy in 2015 on the condition that it not be used commercially. At the time, Wu-Tang Clan member RZA said he wanted the album – which is available in a hand-crafted silver and nickel case and features a leather-bound 174-page book – to be a bit of latest art.
Entrepreneur Martin Shkreli bought the album at auction for $2 million, but was later convicted of lying to investors in two failed hedge funds he ran and defrauding them of tens of millions of dollars.
“Once Upon a Time is Shaolin” was sold to repay a part of Shkreli’s legal debts in 2021. Authorities initially didn’t disclose information concerning the buyer or the value, however the New York Times reported that cryptocurrency collective PleasrDAO paid an intermediary $4 million for the album.
Shkreli, who can be known for driving up the value of a life-saving drug and spreading his image as a “Pharma Bro,” was released from prison in 2022 after serving most of his seven-year sentence.
