Wu-Tang Clan Announce New Album Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, To Be Sold In A Limited Edition Of 1
For a while now, all the far-flung members of the Wu-Tang Clan have been working, with varying levels of enthusiasm, on the troubled group album A Better Tomorrow; early track “Keep Watch” may or may not be on it. But there’s also apparently another Wu-Tang album, and only one very rich and very enthusiastic fan will get to own it. The group’s new LP Once Upon A Time In Shaolin will only be available in a limited edition of one. And it will cost millions.
Forbes reports that the album — which already exists, and which the group has recorded in secret over the years — is currently housed in a custom-made nickel-and-silver box in a Moroccan vault. RZA put the album together with the Morocco-based producer Cilvaringz. Talking to Forbes about the mere idea of owning the album, RZA says, “This is like somebody having the scepter of an Egyptian king,” which is such an awesomely RZA thing to say.
The idea is to take the one single edition on tour, through museums and festivals, charging patrons $30 to $50 just to hear the album on headphones provided by the venue. (Heavy security will be on hand to prevent leaks.) And after all that, RZA will sell the album for some ungodly sum of money; suitors might include record labels and corporations and private citizens. And while RZA may be overvaluing the Wu-Tang name to an absurd degree, this sure does represent one way around the whole nobody-paying-for-music thing.