Martin Shkreli Is In Jail For Threatening Hillary Clinton And His $2M Wu-Tang Album Might Not Even Be A Real Wu-Tang Album
Renowned big pharma fuck boy Martin Shkreli is currently in prison serving time for securities fraud. His initial $5 million bail was revoked Wednesday because prosecutors believed his pre-sentence behaviors were threatening, reports the Washington Post. Prosecutors say that between court sessions, Shkreli harassed women online and encouraged his Facebook audience to pull out a lock of Hillary Clinton’s hair at a book tour date for $5,000.
In other, more musically relevant news, the legitimacy of the Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, which Shkreli purchased for $2 million, is again in question, according to Bloomberg.
Rapper Killa Sin, a member of the Wu-Tang-affiliated group Killarmy, contributed verses to said project but says at the time of recording, he didn’t think he was contributing to an official Wu-Tang production. When Killa Sin recorded the verses with producer Cilvaringz, he says he was told the album was Cilvaringz’ project and later found out the verses landed on Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. Cilvaringz gave Bloomberg this vague quote about the record:
“The album and its concept were an evolutionary process that spanned six years, too complex to explain in a soundbite. All participating Wu-Tang artists were paid in advance while RZA and I bore the financial risk of the project.”
Bloomberg also reports that both U-God and Method Man of the Clan said—via their managers—that the record is indeed a work of Cilvaringz and not a true Wu-Tang project.
In response to all of this, Shkreli poignantly responded to Bloomberg via email with a solid “hahahahahahahahahahahaha” and some insults about the site. Since Shkreli says he hasn’t actually listened to more than a few minutes the album, the verdict is still out on its true affiliation.
It appears that everyone involved in the making of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin has a different take on its genesis and contents. The truth about the album’s validity may soon be public, though, as Shkreli is currently selling the record on eBay, the highest bidder offering more than 1 million.
Perhaps its next owner will give it a listen.