Apparently, Wu-Tang Clan is also for the Aussies as the sole copy of their elusive seventh studio album, Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, heads to Tasmania’s Museum of Old & New Art (MONA) as part of its forthcoming Namedropping exhibition.
From June 15th-24th this year, the public will not only have a chance to gaze upon the ornate, handcrafted silver-nickel box in which it rests, but also receive some aural pleasure from MONA’s listening parties: a curated 30-minute preview of the total 31-track/128-minute run.
Tickets for this singular experience will be available from Thursday and — get this — completely free.
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“Every once in a while, an object on this planet possesses mystical properties that transcend its material circumstances,” said Jarrod Rawlins, Mona Director of Curatorial Affairs.
“Once Upon A Time In Shaolin is more than just an album, so… I knew I had to get it into this exhibition.”
Wu-Tang’s Cilvaringz and RZA have described this as a “400-year-old Renaissance-style approach to music,” adding that they hoped by “offering it as a commissioned commodity,” it would “inspire and intensify urgent debates about the future of music.
Beyond the secretive nature of its six-year recording journey from New Yor City to Marrakesh; the legal condition that prevents its owner from releasing the tracks for 88 years or commercially benefiting from it (hence the free listening parties); and the obvious scarcity factor that’s thrust it into the realm of fine art, Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon A Time In Shaolin has lived quite an interesting life.
After being auctioned through Paddle8 for a reported sum of US$2 million back in 2015, it became the property of controversial price-gouging “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli; who promised to release the album in full if Donald Trump won the 2016 US Presidential Election before attempting to pawn it off for just US$1.2 million on eBay.
But following the disgraced Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO’s securities fraud conviction, the coveted double album — along with his other assets (i.e. a Picasso painting, unreleased Lil Wayne album Tha Carter V — were seized by the US Federal Court.
In 2021, Once Upon A Time In Shaolin was sold by the US Department of Justice to NFD collectors PleasrDAO for approximately US$4 million to cover Shkreli’s debts. Which pretty much brings us to the present day.
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Only a handful of people have ever heard the contents of this album. The question is: will you be one of the lucky few to join this elite circle of hip-hop enthusiasts?
Find out more about the MONA listening parties below, and check out the (supposed) track listing for Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon A Time In Shaolin.
Once Upon A Time In Shaolin Track List
Shaolin School
- “Entrance (Intro)” – 1:57
- “The Magnificent Butchers” – 4:12
- “Staple Town Pt. 1 (Interlude)” – 0:44
- “Ethiopia” – 7:55
- “Handkerchief” – 0:49
- “Staple Town Pt. 2 (Interlude)” – 1:10
- “The Pillage of ’88” – 6:52
- “Centipedes” – 7:14
- “The Widow’s Tear” – 3:55
- “Sorrow” – 5:45
- “The Shogun” – 4:40
- “Blue [Interlude]” – 0:55
- “Semi-Automatic Full Rap Fanatics” – 1:56
- “Staple Town Pt. 3 (Interlude)” – 3:30
- “The Rain” – 7:16
Allah School
- “Sustenance (Intro)” – 0:43
- “Lions” – 6:08
- “Since Time Immemorial” – 2:32
- “The Slaughter Mill” – 6:31
- “The Brute” – 3:24
- “Iqra” – 7:23
- “Flowers” – 5:49
- “Poisoned Earth” – 4:34
- “Shaolin” – 6:14
- “Freedom (Interlude)” – 2:25
- “The Sword Chamber” – 4:05
- “Unique” – 2:32
- “The Bloody Page” – 5:09
- “The Saga Continues” – 6:58
- “Salaam (Outro)” – 1:31
- “Shaolin Soul [Exit]” – 3:41
