Culture
27 May 24

Sole copy of Wu-Tang Clan album to be played to the public for the first time

The Mona Museum Tasmania will hold free, ticketed listening sessions from 15-24 June where members of the public can hear a “curated” 30-minute mix of the album.

Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, the Wu-Tang Clan album that exists in a single physical copy and has been described as "world’s rarest album" will be heard in next month.

The record that was once bought by disgraced pharmaceutical entrepreneur Martin Shkreli for US$2m, was recorded in secret between 2006 and 2013 and is housed in an ornate silver box.

The Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) in Hobart has acquired the album on loan from digital art collective Pleasr for its upcoming exhibition Namedropping, which is set to explore status, celebrity and notoriety.

Once Upon a Time in Shaolin reportedly features contributions from all surviving members of Wu-Tang Clan – and two appearances from Cher.

A single two-CD copy was pressed in 2015, and the digital master files deleted. A legal agreement at the time stipulated that the album could not be used for any commercial purpose for 88 years, or until 2103.

RZA of Wu Tang Clan said the number of years was chosen because there were eight original members, the numbers of the year 2015 added up to eight, and a rotated eight is the symbol for infinity

The album’s rarity was intended as a statement about the impact of streaming and piracy on the value of music, with Wu-Tang producers Cilvaringz and RZA describing it as “a 400-year-old Renaissance-style approach to music”, saying they hoped by “offering it as a commissioned commodity … to inspire and intensify urgent debates about the future of music”.

Under the agreement, the album can be played at listening parties.

The album was recorded in secret over six years, before being stored in a secured vault at the Royal Mansour Hotel in Marrakech, Morocco, then auctioned through auction house Paddle8 in 2015.

Martin Shkreli, the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, paid a reported $2 million to acquire the album.

However, in March 2018, following Shkreli's conviction for securities fraud, a federal court seized assets belonging to him, including Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.

In July 2021, the album was sold to non-fungible token collectors PleasrDAO for $4 million who said they hoped to make it more widely accessible.

Once Upon a Time in Shaolin's appearance at Mona will be the first time that the album has been loaned to a museum since the original sale.