Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, the mythical album from Wu-Tang Clan, was in the hands of various entities over its controversial and lengthy history. The one-of-one album was first under Martin Shkreli, then federal authorities in the United States, and now the digital art collective pleasrDAO. But journalist Pablo Torre was able to track it down and play it for Method Man, who heard it for the first time.
As such, this marks the first time the general public has been able to hear the project. The album had only been played in special locations and events in countries like Taiwan, England, and Tasmania.
On Pablo Torre Finds Out, the journalist revealed they partnered with pleasrDAO to make this possible. Method Man said he lamented how the whole process behind Once Upon A Time In Shaolin put the group's integrity into question. As for what we were able to hear from Torre's coverage, it's the mix of gritty bombast and cold, melancholy reflection the Wu mastered so adeptly in their work.
"We found out that that album ain't as bad as I expected it to be," the Wu-Tang MC remarked. "What do you guys think? [...] This is fly-on-the-wall s**t right here. I loved it."
Once Upon A Time In Shaolin
Once Upon A Time In Shaolin's long history was most recently marked by its "release" as an NFT in five-minute snippets. The federal U.S. government had seized it after Martin Shkreli's conviction for securities fraud. He had bought the one-of-one album for $2 million at a 2015 auction. The U.S. Department of Justice later sold the project to pleasrDAO for $4 million in 2021.
As for the journalist behind this reveal, Pablo Torre became a big name thanks to his coverage of the Kawhi Leonard and Los Angeles Clippers scandal. Now, he can add another big story to his resumé.
Of course, this still leaves questions about the Wu-Tang Clan's mythical album up in the air. Will fans ever get to hear it in full, or at least via more accessible bite-sized methods? It doesn't seem likely, but this is still a very curious development.
