Two Snippets of Wu-Tang Clan's One-of-a-Kind Album Are Finally Public
The podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out has published two snippets from Once Upon A Time in Shaolin, the single-copy album by US rap group Wu-Tang Clan. Group member Method Man heard the record for the first time.
Once Upon A Time in Shaolin, an album by the American rap group Wu-Tang Clan that exists in just one copy, has so far been extremely hard to hear. A new episode of the podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out now lets listeners hear two snippets of the record, a rare opportunity outside closed events.
History of the album
The podcast goes into the album's history in detail. In 2015, Martin Shkreli, a disgraced pharmaceutical executive, bought the only copy at auction. The album cannot be released commercially until 2103. Shkreli later had to forfeit it to the US government, which sold it in 2021 to PleasrDAO, a crypto art collective. The group has allowed the album to be played at special exhibitions.
The listening party
Working with PleasrDAO, the podcast hosted a listening party where the album was played for Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man, who had never heard it before. The podcast recorded both the event and his reaction. The two snippets can be heard at 32:30 and 39:02 in the episode.
Method Man's verdict was brief: "I do not hate this album."
