The saga of Wu-Tang Clan’s elusive album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” has been full of twists and turns, leaving group member Method Man feeling a bit perplexed. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Meth described the project as a “circus spectacle” and admitted that it’s a touchy subject for the group. According to him, the album was never intended to be a Wu-Tang Clan release, with an unnamed financier piecing together old and new verses to create the final product.
“I thought it was some circus spectacle,” Method Man said. “I never really spoke to RZA about it; it’s an uncomfortable subject to most of the guys, so we don’t really discuss it too much. The process of the thing being made was never told to us. We were never told what it was. It was never supposed to be a Wu-Tang album.”
The album’s journey has been a rollercoaster ride, dating back to when infamous figure Martin Shkreli snagged it for a cool $2 million in 2015. After legal battles and a government seizure, the record ended up in the hands of PleasrDAO in 2021 for a hefty sum of $4.75 million.
In a recent development, PleasrDAO has taken legal action against Shkreli, accusing him of holding onto copies of the album and sharing it online. A judge has issued a temporary restraining order, preventing Shkreli from disseminating or selling the album until a hearing in Brooklyn on August 23.
Despite the chaos, PleasrDAO has released a five-minute sampler of “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” for purchase on thealbum.com, aiming to inch closer to unveiling the full project by its contractual release date of October 8, 2103.
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