Right now, somewhere deep in the heart of Morocco, rests a new Wu-Tang Clan album, but not the new Wu-Tang Clan album you’re thinking of. The already-announced A Better Tomorrow is coming out in July, but RZA, GZA, and the rest of the Killah Rascals also secretly worked on Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, a double-LP that’s going on tour. Not the group — the album itself.
Like the work of a master Impressionist, it will truly be one-of-a-kind—in lieu of a traditional major label or independent launch, the iconic hip-hop collective will make and sell just one copy of the album. And similar to a Monet or a Degas, the price tag will be a multimillion-dollar figure.
“We’re about to sell an album like nobody else sold it before,” says [RZA], the first Wu-Tang member to speak on record about Once Upon a Time, in an interview with FORBES. “We’re about to put out a piece of art like nobody else has done in the history of [modern] music. We’re making a single-sale collector’s item. This is like somebody having the scepter of an Egyptian king.” (Via)
The album will be housed inside an “engraved silver-and-nickel box” created by British-Moroccan artist Yahya. It will tour museums, galleries, and festivals, with admission prices ranging from $30-$50. Visitors will have to go through heavy security to hear all 31 songs over 128 minutes using “headphones provided by the venue.” Eventually, once the tour is finished, the album will be sold for something “in the millions.”
This is either the best idea ever, or the worst, with no option in-between.
