Wu-Tang Clan's new album will cost 'millions of dollars' — and only one person gets to have it
JASON MERRITT/Getty Images
Over the past few years, hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan secretly recorded a brand-new double album titled The Wu — Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. Curious enough to give it a spin? You'll have to work a little harder than opening iTunes or Spotify. Only one copy of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin exists — and Wu-Tang isn't planning to make any more.
"We're about to sell an album like nobody else sold it before," explained Wu-Tang member RZA 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."
The group plans to tour Once Upon a Time in Shaolin in museums, galleries, and festivals — London's Tate Modern has reportedly been discussed as a potential venue — where attendees can pay $30 to $50 to listen to the sole copy. When the tour is over, Wu-Tang plans to put the album for sale for a price that will reportedly be "in the millions." They're confident that a company or independent buyer will bite at that price, and it's hard to argue with their logic; after all, Wu-Tang Clan ain't nuthing ta... well, you know the rest.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.
-
5 fact-checked cartoons about Meta firing its fact checkers
Cartoons Artists take on playing chicken, information superhighway, and more
By The Week US Published
-
NCHIs: the controversy over non-crime hate incidents
The Explainer Is the policing of non-crime hate incidents an Orwellian outrage or an essential tool of modern law enforcement?
By The Week Staff Published
-
Islamic State: the terror group's second act
Talking Point Isis has carried out almost 700 attacks in Syria over the past year, according to one estimate
By The Week UK Published
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appeal
Speed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76
Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproar
Speed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published