Last year, Wu-Tang Clan shook the music industry with the announcement of creating one copy of their upcoming album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, and then auctioning it off to the highest bidder. When the news broke, RZA gave fans more details: that he would be producing it with the Wu-Tang’s extended family Tarik “Cilvaringz” Azzougarh, that the thing was hiding somewhere in plain sight in Morocco, and that even he didn’t have access to the masters. Upon completion, the plan was to take Once Upon a Time in Shaolin on a tour of museums, galleries and festivals around the world. Just like a must-see exhibition, the idea was to push forward the idea that music – especially Hip Hop music — holds the same prestige as other works of art.
Since then, the direction of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin has changed its course. Wu-Tang opted to not share the album on a world tour. Instead, they partnered with auction house Paddle8 to sell their masterpiece. According to Cilvaringz, all digital copies and physical backups of the 31-track album have been destroyed, increasing its worth to millions. RZA has already fielded offers in the $2 million to $5 million range.
Last night (Mar. 2) at MoMA PS1 in Queens, Paddle8 and Wu-Tang held an event to preview the never-before-heard album to the public. With heavy security at the doors, electronic devices and video recorders were removed upon entering. Inside a white dome surrounded by fresh snow, we were seated in rows to prepare us for the immersive experience of the Wu’s sonic sculpture. The small group of influential critics, art collectors and fans (Power 105 gave away 18 tickets just before), RZA and Cilvaringz gave a brief background on its creation before getting into what we’ve all been waiting for. While meticulously jotting down notes during the listening and its proceeding Q&A with Genius’ executive editor Sasha Frere-Jones, here are eight things we learned from Wu-Tang’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.
The One Copy Concept Came From A Visit To The Pyramids of Giza
Cilvaringz began his relationship with RZA when he saw a Wu-Tang Clan show while they were on tour in Europe in 1997. Cilvaringz described a particular moment when Ol’ Dirty Bastard noticed he was passionately rapping the lyrics of “Bring the Ruckus” and pulled him up on the stage. Cilvaringz wasn’t producing back then; he was actually aspiring to become a rapper. He wanted to give RZA his demo on stage, but a fight broke out and he missed his opportunity. About two years later, Cilvaringz kept trying to arrange a meeting with RZA in New York, only to find out he was too busy. But one day RZA’s mother saw Cilvaringz hanging around the office. She liked his personality, told her son to make time to meet him, and their musical partnership took off.
By 2004, Cilvaringz was RZA’s producer and student. During a trip to Egypt to see the Pyramids of Giza, the two were taken in the sights, and that inspired them to create a piece of art where its exclusivity was the main attraction. In RZA’s words, he wanted to change the perspective of art and music, blending them into one. “Things have value when they’re rare,” he said, adding later on that you buy a painting or sculpture without the intention of replicating it.
“Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” Travels Back To The “36 Chambers” Sound
This wasn’t your typical listening session where free cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were served. RZA and Cilvaringz stressed that this was “the first/last only public listening.” Naturally, everyone’s anticipation grew.
The lights were completely turned off so the audience could consume its layers without any distractions on a loud speaker system. Of the 13 minutes, a diehard Wu-Tang fan would immediately recognize that none of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin is a retread of the moody soundscapes of A Better Tomorrow. The album starts with a rainy interlude featuring Raekwon “keeping it 2000 with y’all.” He delivers that real, nonsensical shit talking and a perfect lead in to a track where Ghostface Killah is the highlight. This was the same track that Forbes revealed 51 seconds back in 2014. Filled with loud sirens and gunshots, the fuller version is vintage Ghost at his best.
Once Upon a Time in Shaolin feels like a classic Wu-Tang album. There were more interludes from RZA and Ghostface (lost interviews explaining the concept of the LP) similar to the musical breaks in Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers. In the production, RZA and Cilvaringz go back to the basics: dusty grooves and gritty, soul sample-based style with lots of instruments. One song borrowed lines from Edwin Starr’s “War” (“Induction then destruction. Who wants to die?”) Other spliced their favorite scenes from kung-fu movies to showcase their warrior-like emceeing. Each member sounded sharp, almost like RZA told them to rap like their lives depended on it.
The LP aims to capture the era of when the Staten Island crew was on the rise in the 1990s. Their affiliates such as Sunz of Man and Killarmy also got their chance to shine. The last song played had Redman, Method Man and Inspectah Deck bodying their head-nodding verses over guitar-driven production. It was further proof that the Wu were the sounds of the culture.
Cher Appears Twice
While RZA didn’t reveal too many of the special guests, the iconic singer was confirmed last year when Forbes editor Zach O’ Malley Greenburg broke the news. She is credited as a singer and an actor in one of the interludes.
It Took Six Years To Complete
RZA first announced the idea of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin on March 26, 2014. However, RZA and Cilvaringz have been working on the title quietly for six years in Marrakech, Morocco. Cilvaringz says it was “a complete unorthodox approach—song titles were all hidden.” Officially, they finished two years ago, but not without RZA’s approval. Cilvaringz’s recalls working on some snares for three months. He also sent a lot of the tracks to RZA, in which he would tweak or change everything “from the hi-hats to the smallest things.” Similar to perfectionist methods of Quincy Jones and Dr. Dre, they wanted to be completely satisfied with their vision.
None Of The Wu-Tang Members Knew They Were Recording A Final Album
When RZA and Cilvaringz were developing the idea of a final album, they didn’t tell the Wu-Tang members at first. Studio sessions were meant to purely capture moments from the Wu’s lives, so they felt revealing the concept would jeopardize their mission. Three years ago, the pair broke it down to the members, and each felt it was a unique idea. With their approval, 80 percent of the album was re-recorded so the listener can fully understand the era of the chambers.
The Box Was Handcrafted By British-Moroccan Artist Yahya
The silver and nickel container that was physically on display was created by Yahya over the course of three months. The album will be accompanied by a 174-page manuscript containing lyrics, credits, and anecdotes on the production of each song, printed on gilded Fedrigoni Marina parchment and encased in a leather-bound book. A nice perk is the red, candle wax seal that was specially designed for the box set. RZA’s goals were to bring different worlds of art into one.
There Are Stipulations Once Someone Buys “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin”
New extensive copyright details emerged just before Once Upon a Time in Shaolin went for auction last night. The condition was whoever purchases the one-of-kind album cannot release it commercially for 88 years. In 2103, the album’s public and commercial rights transfer to the buyer, where they can decide whether to sell or release the LP. During the 88-year time period, the buyer does have the option to release the music for free. RZA hoped that the buyer realizes he or she was purchasing an original work of art and wouldn’t reproduce it.
The Album Provides Closure For Fans
Despite the Wu-Tang’s tensions in the past, RZA said this was their most cohesive project with all eight members involved. Everyone was in their truest form, which hasn’t happened since their highly praised 36 Chambers. RZA also wanted Once Upon a Time in Shaolin to help reintroduce the idea of music as a work of art, and to consider that it holds a lot of value. Overall, he wanted to inspire a new generation of artists that what they produce in this world is special.
Music is meant to be heard tho so this artsy fartsy Picasso bullshit will never make any sense to me. It’s a slap in the face to long time Wu-Tang supporters/fans that will never be eble to hear the album. It’s absolutely absurd if you think about it. RZA really needs to get off the coke and reconsider releasing this one to the masses. Remember, music is meant to be heard and shared, not owned by one single jackass that can afford it and has to sit on it for 88 years. Incredibly stupid.
Yeh but it says the buyer can release it for free they just can’t sell it
To all the haters commenting here, did any of you actually bother to READ the article? I know it’s more than 140 characters but are your attention spans really that short? It can be given away, exhibited,toured, etc until 2103 when the sole owner can decide if they wish to commercialize (replicate, sell, release to public) or not. Reading can be fun. Dummies.
The album provides closure for the fans? How? I’ll be dead by the time this drops. They finally go back to that raw sound, and we ain’t allowed to hear it? Fuck this shit. This really tarnishes Wu’s image in my mind. The buyer better leak it (or have someone break into their house and leak it).
SOunds great. Thats all well and good, BUT WE WON’T GET TO HEAR IT!!!!! Damn, Rza you screwing us fans over again even after A Better Tomorrow
so you mean to tell me all the diehard fans that supported the wu over the year(even when they was putting out less than stellar shit) don’t have access to the truest shit they ever wrote and they leave us with a sub par album in a better tomorrow for retail?! fuck wu tang! Rza on his bullshit
fuck wu tang…this is bad business…88yrs this nigga on some bullshit. i lost my respect for wu tang. you want art, have somebody carve some statues of the original 9 and put that in a museum. fuck that cd and it’s box!
HHAHAHA you haters make me laugh !
Its problably not as good as 36 chambers so he man just sayin fuck it
This is a dumb concept but it’s a better idea than releasing another overhyped piece of crap that will flop at retail.
Well if something is overhyped, it sells a lot doesn’t necessarily flop you know?
Hype gets people excited so I don’t get the logic in it not doing that well, sales wise.
You sour ass kids. None of you have a right to complain or a say what they do with their music. They owe all of your absolutely nothing. I think the whole idea and concept is extremely interesting and I respect RZA going absolutely 360 compared to what rappers and other artists are doing right now. They are putting as much music out as possible for free no matter the quality. RZA turned around and said we have to value our art and make it something special. So if RZA doesn’t want to release this one to the public, I’m all for it. Its his art piece, not ours. It doesn’t belong to us or the public.
of course the clan “owes” us nothing, but to make a final, allegedly proper album (a better tomorrow was a huge disappointment), and only let one rich person possibly keep it to themselves?
its music, not visual art.. meant to be appreciated by FANS, not singular FAN (well, the few fans the wu have left at this point).
sure, its interesting, but at the end of the day, if the album is as good as its being made out to be, i’d rather actually enjoy it than simply know it exists in the hands of a rich person.
they should have released this album to the public, and made one copy of the piece of ass that was a ‘better’ tomorrow.
by the way, you mean a 180, as a 360 brings you back to the same point you started.
Rza bogus as hell how yall gone go back to the 36 chambers and wont let us hear it this dumb as fuck even the person that buy it wont be around 88 years from now fuck wu tang at this point they last 4 albums been bullshit but rae and ghost been holding it down solo this the dumbest shit ever im sure this shit gone leak soon somebody recorded that shit at the
Listening party i mean rza could at least give us 30 second snippets
Lol, They are still talking about this fraud (a Cilvaringz compilation rebadged as a WTC album ) ? He needed RZA name and the wu tang brand to do his attempt to make this con supported by some mass medias but we know the truth. We lose nothing (the production isn’t handled by RZA, or True Master, or 4th Disciple, or Mathematics) but the respect and admiration we have for their whole accomplishment.
what a joke, this isnt about “art”, this faqq wont stop until he’s completely sold out. hiphop is street art like graffiti, not this only-for-rich people garbage.
I know for a FACT that there are more than just Cilvaringz beats on there. I know who one is, but won’t say, but that says to me
That there must be others. The 1 I know of IS a Wu producer. I was sworn by secrecy till death or its release i wouldn’t say and it came from someone with 1st hand knowing. I’m sure y’all won’t believe me, but i just wanted to make my point.
“During the 88-year time period, the buyer does have the option to release the music for free.”
Where did you hear that? From everything I’ve read on auction website, it doesn’t mention anything about the buyer being able to release it for free. Trust me, I hope someone buys it and does exactly that, but all I keep reading about is that it can’t be released for 88 years period, not commercially or publicly for free. I hope someone can clarify this.
It’ll probably be in the contract he makes them sign before he agrees to sell it to the buyer.
“During the 88-year time period, the buyer does have the option to release the music for free”
That’s a copied & pasted excerpt from the article vahiphopfan
It’s taken directly from the article on this page, you know, the one you are commenting on?!? SMH! The hell is wrong with everyone? Try READING the article before commenting. The media is just as bad writing BS without fact checking first.
Don’t get the concept because even art that’s personally owned by an individual others get to see it. I think its owner would rather have many people look and appreciate it.
I hope it gets leaked an hour after the sale. Just to make RZA feel like a chump. Fuck him and his stupid idea. How do we have closure on the Wu chapter if we can’t hear it? All we get is a bag of shit they called A Better Tomorrow. Wu Tang is no longer for the children. It’s for the rich man.
It’s not even RZA’s idea. It’s a Cilvaringz business. He is obligated to share it with the owner of the brand to make the publicity that you read about it which is at least 60% lies. Those who followed the Cilvaingz compilation making of are disgusted by what they hear and see.
this is not what music was meant to be.
All of your comments above are amazingly ignorant. Your small minded entitled fools. you don’t DESERVE to hear the album.
Long time rap fan. Huge Wu fan. Value their best work and their contribution to the genre. The industry wouldn’t be the same without them, and NYC wouldn’t be the same without them. That said . . . .
The Wu lost their ability to make top tier music worthy of longevity a long time ago. The potential will always be there, for sure. But taken as a unit – NOT the the sum of their individual works – these guys have not put together a solid effort since Forever, which was in ’98 (f’ing 1998!) and even that was shaky. Their work, from the original 36 album through the independent albums up to Forever was legendary. That’s about 5 years, and historically speaking, that’s usually the window of time musicians have to make relevant and impactful music. After that, groups and artists fade away. Some make good stuff here and there, while other pop out of nowhere years later to drop something really good. Historically, though, the window is 5 years.
Wu is no different.
I don’t think this album would amount to solid collection of music, although that silly :51 second sounded very intriguing. The real crime here is that there are a lot of fans, and a music genre that is more or less broken, and if this album lived up to the hype, it could be a great thing on many levels. Even though, I doubt the album is of this quality, I still want to hear it! But I won’t.
It makes no sense conceptually, but does make sense to generate a ton of free marketing and press for ANOTHER album that will be forgotten in 88 years. The business and marketing behind the “secret” album was genius. The truth is, though, that a musical creation should be evaluated on its artistic merit. And that, my friends, we will never be able to judge.
He has the option to release it for free which he will. He cant sell it for 88 years thats all. He owns it and can give it away but cant sell it thats all people.
not even 88 years of anticipation could have saved a better tomorrow…
FUCK the WU TANG CLAN…I feel sad for the tru Wu fans man, loyalty got all of us fucked in the ass coz RZA had a mind shift from real nigga to artsy fartsy rich black guy trying to make a mark in all white art antics. damn shame, the Wu has always claimed its all about the fans. the fans mobilized in countless numbers and made the Wu number one crew even at their lowest points in time and as a reward they get teased about an album that is the true 36 chambers (of which all the fans have been waiting on for as long as we all remember) – when it is finaly done – the poor fans are told that they are not worthy to hear the 36 chamber sound coz of their class rating..”only one mahfucker gets to hear this and he better be loaded and is not supposed to share it in 88 years” – ok in 88years all the original fans will have passed on, who the fuck is this 88year window satisfying…I just hope someone breaks into whoever house this copy will be and break that shitty disc in half show RZA how it feels…maaaan fuck RZA and fuck the Wu tang…I am done.
RZA you are full of s–t!!
88 years….word? smdh, when keep it real gets stupid.
RZA this is idea is just as dumb as that movie you came out with.
I hope no one buys this album! OR I hope a Saudi prince buys it and releases it anyways. F— yo album!!
Its a Master plan but its sad for the true Wu supporters!
Cant Imagine that anybody wants to keep this in the safe.
their best album since 36 Chambers and nobody gets to hear it. Some closure.
Hopefully the rich fuck who buys it releases it for free.
Don’t be fooled people, this is a Cilvringz album, not a Wu Tang album like they are trying to sell you.
RZA=GENIUS
Very disappointing that we won’t get to hear it but basically, what i’m getting from the overall underlying message here is ”STOP DOWNLOADING OUR MUSIC”. Whether this concept works or not is another matter.
I get the concept but the terms are absolutely, incredibly ridiculous! You get that album out to the fans because they would have paid handsomely for it especially after all the hype that has been built around it. Now, if you want to create a “special edition” album sold like this with unreleased tracks in the fancy box then that would have been worth it for the price of the box alone. Afterwards, you could put a caveat on those songs not to be released for a while which would have made good business sense overall and created more of a curiosity for the bonus tracks….Maybe even add a special edition vinyl version to the box!!
how does this give WU tang fans closure , when we ain’t gonna hear the damn thing, talks of releasing it in 88years , means my son would be 93 on the day of its release 🙁
so in essence, as a very loyal WU fan I will Never hear it and therefore never get the closure they talking about 🙁
Firstly i respect Rza & the whole clan. They’ve changed my life on many levels. I feel that RZA & Cilvaringz are going about this the wrong way. They should have waited 20+ years before even mentioning this album, the reception & anticipation would have been greater too.
It’s a original idea and typical RZA as he has always been ahead of his time. But due to the disappointment of a better tomorrow i feel that the timing is in bad taste and a kick in the teeth to Wu Tang fans worldwide.
RZA knows this album is better than a better tomorrow (excuse the pun) yet he & Cilvaringz keep telling us Once upon a time… is the closest the the original Wu sound which is exactly what US Wu fans have been wanting for over 10 years now.
They’re clearly not for the fans but for self on this project. This disappoints me as RZA has lost his way with the production on the last 2 albums and from what i heard in that ’51’ seconds this sounded like fire!
At least my gran kids will be able to listen and enjoy a potential classic Wu joint. Peace to you all. FG
85% of people are obviously dumb, deaf or blind since they read only the headline and not the article.
Yes, I read the story, and I don’t ive a fuck. Once again Wu Tang’s cheif proves he is a selfish arrogant mofo. Rza Middle fingeryou. First you give us years of light-wieght drug/ european white girl loving hippie soul rap. then shitty ass imitation of Wu’s old music. Now, so removed from being relevent to your own style, which you betrayed and trashed, that you had to bring someone else in to help you reproduce somethingyou created in the first place. Music is for the fans, but once again you have proven that you feel you are more important than fans and the music, you reASONS ARE JUST stupid. HERE IS A CLUE. Even though I can’t buy the Mona Lisa, I can at least see it and admire it as a work of art, same with Picaso. So comparing an album that only some rich asshole will get to hear, someone who most likely won’t be a real fan is not the same thing. Wu has turned out to be a huge disapointment over the years to die hard fans. Rae and Ghost kept the flag flying while we were waiting years for Wu albums that turn out not to be worth waiting years. This last gesture will help you fade away, not live forever.
Why everybody got their panties bunched up over this shit? The statement they’re making about art is TRUE… but best believe this shit WILL LEAK asap. Chill the fuck out, it’s coming sooner than you think.
it’s so crazy to think I am going to die without hearing this record lol ahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
probably sucked anyways…