Once upon a time in Shaolin (specifically between 1999 and 2004), the FBI kept tabs on the Wu-Tang Clan, investigating the iconic Hip Hop collective for a range of alleged crimes including drug running, illegal weapons possession, car jackings, gang ties and even murder.
Two decades later, the Wu are still in the United States government’s scope, albeit for a very different reason. On Wednesday (January 5), the government released never-before-seen photos of the Staten Island rap crew’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin album, as obtained by BuzzFeed News.
The one-of-a-kind album fell into the government’s hands in 2018 after its former owner, infamous “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, was convicted of fraud and sentenced to seven years in prison. In July 2021, the album was sold again to PleasrDAO, a “collective of DeFi leaders, early NFT collectors and digital artists,” for a reported $4 million.
NEW: @BuzzFeedNews & I sued the govt under #FOIA for docs about it's sale of Wu-Tang Clan's Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. We obtained amazing new pics of it, bill of sale, purchase agreement & more. But govt claims sale price of album is a trade secret! https://t.co/SYZCL14IpOpic.twitter.com/2JjKPLM2wN
— Jason Leopold (@JasonLeopold) January 5, 2022
BuzzFeed News, who obtained the photographs through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, published over a dozen images of the sole copy of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, as well as a copy of the bill of sale and purchase agreement.
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The album, which was conceived by RZA and co-producer Cilvaringz as a collector’s item akin to a piece of fine art, is kept in a nickel silver box stored in a cedarwood box and covered in black cow leather with light beige velvet lining. Also included is a 175-page lyric book and gold-leafed certificate of authority.
Photographs showing the double album’s two CDs, 20-song tracklist and lyric book, however, were redacted by the government, who cited “trade secrets.” The amount they sold the album for in July 2021 was also redacted for the same reason.
The Government Released New Photos Of Wu-Tang Clan's “Once Upon A Time In Shaolin” Album (But It Won’t Say How Much It Cost)#wutangforeverpic.twitter.com/1nUxbZVjkE
— Duke Wilbury (@DWilbury) January 6, 2022
Although Once Upon a Time in Shaolin is now in the hands of a group who “acquire culturally significant pieces with a charitable twist,” PleasrDAO is still forbidden from duplicating the album for commercial gain.
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The newly-obtained documents state the new buyers must adhere to the same terms of Shkreli’s original purchase agreement, which means “they may display the presentation box embedded with the Wu-Tang Clan logo, which was designed by British-Moroccan artist Yahya Rouach, but they are prohibited from making copies of the album.”
The documents also shed light on the album’s July 2021 sale, revealing Peter Scoolidge, PleasrDAO’s attorney, had been pursuing the Wu-Tang’s rare LP since at least March 2018, when he represented Cilvaringz. The producer, who owned 50 percent of the album’s masters, was “prepared to file a petition under the forfeiture order to protect his rights in the work.”
Mythical Wu-Tang Clan 'Shaolin' Album Sold By U.S. Government Following Martin Shkreli Forfeit
Earlier this year, RZA expressed his regret over selling Once Upon a Time in Shaolin to Martin Shkreli, who originally purchased the album for $2 million in 2015.
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“It was in the wrong hands,” he said during an interview with Hot 97. “He made the deal before it was revealed of his character, of his personality, and all of the insidious things he would go on to do.”
However, RZA shared his optimism about the album’s current owners, saying, “Now that PleasrDAO has it, there’s opportunity that a lot these beautiful ideas of what this art can be and how it could expand itself in the world and in its own life of itself. I think the possibilities are there now.”
The full collection of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin photographs can be viewed here.
