Taking diehard fandom to new levels, some “private American collector” just recently dropped some serious dough on Wu-Tang Clan’s one-of-a-kind album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. Auctioned off by Paddle8, the album’s final selling price currently remains a mystery, however, what is known is that the offer exceeds the $5 million one that was proposed earlier this year.
Produced by RZA and Tarik “Cilvaringz” Azzougarh in Marrakech, Morocco, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin includes unreleased music recorded by various Wu-Tang members over a six-year period. The 31-track double LP is packaged in a hand-carved nickel silver box designed by British-Moroccan artist Yahya, along with a leather-bound book filled with the album’s lyrics as well as each song’s respective meaning, a gold-leafed certificate of authenticity and a pair of PMC MB2-XBD speakers worth over $55,000.
Once Upon a Time in Shaolin has been masked in secrecy since RZA announced its existence in 2014, which is confirmed by the album’s strict copyright that restricts the owner from sharing the music for another 88 years. When the year 2103 comes around, “It will still be [the owner’s] choice at that [point] to release it or not release it,” Cilvaringz previously stated.
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