‘Once Upon a Time in Shaolin’ is the 7th studio album by the American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. The album was recorded in secret over six years and features the entire Wu-Tang Clan, plus rapper Redman, the Wu-Tang Killa Beez, FC Barcelona soccer players, Game of Thrones actress Carice van Houten, and two appearances from Cher.
Only one physical copy of the album was created, with actually no ability to download or stream it. The album was held in a silver jewel-encrusted box with a wax Wu-Tang Clan seal and leather-bound liner notes.
The album was purchased directly from the Wu-Tang Clan in 2015 by Martin Shkreli, the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, for a reported $2 million. In March 2018, following Mr Shkreli’s conviction for securities fraud, a federal court seized the assets belonging to him, which including ‘Once Upon a Time in Shaolin’. In July 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice literally sold it to a non-fungible token collectors named PleasrDAO for $4 million to cover Shkreli’s debts.
The album’s owner, PleasrDAO, is now selling partial ownership of the album as a $1 NFT. Each NFT purchase will purportedly speed up the countdown by 88 seconds. As of now, only a five-minute sampler is available for $1.
The world’s most expensive album is available for $1.
Enter the chamber and secure a copy – 2103 will come faster than you think.HTTPS://T.CO/QRMGDIRWOY PIC.TWITTER.COM/RTCKUH0IT3
— ✨ Pleasr (@PleasrDAO) JUNE 13, 2024
A legal agreement with the buyer stipulated that the album cannot be commercially exploited at all until 2103. The 88-year restriction was chosen as there were eight original members of Wu-Tang clan, because the numbers of the year 2015 added to eight, and because the number rotated made the symbol for infinity.
