Music is usually for everyone. You go on Spotify, you hit play, and you share the vibe. But Wu-Tang Clan Once Upon a Time in Shaolin flipped that script entirely. It’s an album that only one person can own at a time. Seriously. Just one. It’s been sitting in a vault, trapped in legal battles, and bought by some of the most hated people in America.
The whole thing started as a protest. Back in 2014, RZA and the producer Cilvaringz were looking at the music industry and they hated what they saw. Digital streaming had turned music into background noise. It was disposable. So, they decided to make a piece of art that treated music like a Renaissance painting. They spent six years recording in secret. They produced exactly one physical copy. They put it in a hand-carved silver and nickel box. Then, they told the world that whoever bought it couldn't release the music commercially for 88 years.
It’s a wild story.
The $2 Million Villain Arc
When the album finally went up for auction through Paddle8 in 2015, nobody knew who the buyer was. For a few months, it was just a mystery. Then the news broke. Martin Shkreli, the "Pharma Bro" who became famous for hiking the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000%, was the owner. He paid $2 million for the privilege of owning the only copy of Wu-Tang Clan Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.
The fans were furious. RZA even ended up donating a significant portion of the sale proceeds to charity to distance the group from Shkreli’s reputation. Shkreli, being Shkreli, used the album as a prop. He’d play snippets on his live streams just to taunt people. He even threatened to destroy it at one point. It felt like the ultimate "f-you" to music history. The most anticipated hip-hop project in a decade was literally being held hostage by a guy the internet collectively loathed.
What Does it Actually Sound Like?
The big question is always the music. Is it actually any good?
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Most people will never know. Aside from the snippets Shkreli leaked, and a few lucky journalists who got a 13-minute preview at MoMA PS1 in New York, the tracklist remains a ghost. We know it’s a double album. It’s 31 tracks long. It features the whole Clan—including recorded verses from the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. Cher is even on there. Yeah, that Cher. She appears on two tracks.
The production is said to be a throwback to the gritty, 1990s Shaolin sound. Think 36 Chambers but with a massive, orchestral budget. It isn't just a collection of throwaway verses. Cilvaringz spent years meticulously layering the production to ensure it felt like a legacy project. It was meant to be the Wu-Tang's magnum opus, a final statement on their place in the pantheon of art.
The Government Seizure and the DAO
Things got even weirder when the feds got involved. In 2018, Shkreli was convicted of securities fraud. As part of his $7.4 million forfeiture judgment, the U.S. government seized his assets. That included his E-Trade account, a Picasso painting, and, you guessed it, the Wu-Tang album.
For a while, Wu-Tang Clan Once Upon a Time in Shaolin was sitting in a Department of Justice evidence locker. Imagine a federal agent just looking at this silver box every day, knowing it’s worth millions. Eventually, the government sold it to cover Shkreli’s debt.
In 2021, the buyer was revealed to be PleasrDAO. They’re a collective of DeFi (decentralized finance) enthusiasts and digital art collectors. They paid $4 million for it. This was a massive shift. Instead of one "villain" owning the music, it was now owned by a group of people who actually seemed to care about the art. They described it as the "ultimate NFT" before NFTs were even a mainstream thing.
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The Legal Nightmare of 88 Years
Why 88 years? RZA has a thing for the number eight. There are eight original members of the Wu-Tang Clan. The number eight rotated is the infinity symbol. It’s also a nod to the "88" in the year 1988, a golden era for the group.
But legally, this is a mess. The contract signed by the buyer is incredibly restrictive.
- The owner cannot release the music for profit until the year 2103.
- They can, however, play it for free at listening parties or museum exhibits.
- They can give the album away, but they can't sell "copies" of the songs.
PleasrDAO has been trying to find ways to share the music without breaking these rules. In June 2024, they finally held a series of public listening events at the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Tasmania, Australia. People actually flew across the world just to hear a 30-minute edit of the album. It was the first time the public had heard the music in any official capacity since it was recorded.
The Shkreli Lawsuit of 2024
Just when you thought the drama was over, PleasrDAO sued Martin Shkreli in 2024. Why? Because Shkreli apparently made digital copies of the album before the feds seized it. He’s been accused of playing the album on his "Spaces" on X (formerly Twitter) and sent copies to his followers.
PleasrDAO is arguing that this devalues their $4 million investment. They want the court to force Shkreli to destroy any copies he has and stop him from playing it. Shkreli’s defense, in typical fashion, has been defiant. This legal battle is crucial because it tests the very idea of "exclusive" digital ownership. If the guy who sold it (or had it seized) still has the files, is the physical copy actually worth anything?
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Why This Album Still Matters
Honestly, some people think the whole thing is a gimmick. They call it a publicity stunt that got out of hand. And yeah, maybe it is. But in an era where we "own" nothing—where your favorite movie can disappear from a streaming service overnight—there’s something powerful about a physical object that exists in one place.
Wu-Tang Clan Once Upon a Time in Shaolin forced us to have a conversation about the value of music. If a painting by Basquiat is worth $100 million because there’s only one, why shouldn't an album be treated the same way? The Clan successfully turned a CD into a legendary artifact. It’s the Excalibur of hip-hop.
Actionable Steps for Music Fans and Collectors
If you're fascinated by the saga of the world's rarest album, here is how you can actually engage with this piece of history without being a millionaire:
- Track the PleasrDAO updates: The DAO has hinted at "digitizing" the experience in a way that respects the 88-year ban. They have a dedicated site for the album where they announce listening pop-ups.
- Study the "Cilvaringz" production style: Since you can't hear the album, listen to Cilvaringz’s 2007 album The I. It’s the closest sonic blueprint you’ll find to the production style used on Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.
- Visit MONA in Tasmania: While the 2024 sessions ended, the museum has expressed interest in future collaborations with PleasrDAO. It’s currently the unofficial home of the album's physical presence.
- Understand the Legal Precedent: Keep an eye on the PleasrDAO v. Shkreli case. The outcome will likely define how "one-of-a-kind" digital and physical art is protected in the future.
- Listen to the "Shaolin" snippets: They are out there on YouTube and Reddit. While low quality, they give you a glimpse into the raw, uncut Wu sound that RZA was trying to preserve.
The story of this album isn't over. It’s a 100-year play. Most of us reading this won't even be alive when the 88-year restriction finally lifts in 2103. That is the ultimate irony; the greatest Wu-Tang album ever made was recorded for a generation that hasn't been born yet.