Wu-Tang Clan is taking a page out of U2's playbook...sort of. Well, not really. The rap crew has recently been promoting the Once Upon a Time in Shaolin album, which has been on the shelf for six years. According to a new press release sent out by the group, the sole copy of the album is available to one buyer who can either share the music for free or wait 88 years to put it up for sale.
Here's what the release stated, via HipHopDX:
Only one single copy of Once Upon A Time In Shaolin was ever to be made. This has been the case since the very first announcement. A commercial release was never planned. The right to commercialize it, meaning the right to sell it en mass to the public in any form is not allowed until 88 years from now. If the public rights were handed over now, then this would be a record deal like any other. Not the sale of a single copy. It can be exhibited publically and it can be given away for free. But it cannot be commercialized as a conventional album release until 2103. Even then, it will be the owner's decision to release it or keep it as a single unit, not the Wu-Tang.
The statement was prompted by comments recently made by Method Man. After XXL asked about the 88-year waiting period, Meth responded, "F*ck that album."
He then rattled off a lengthy rant about the concept, but RZA took to Twitter shortly after to clear things up since XXL presented Meth with the wrong information.
"FYI. @methodman was misinformed by @xxl and you guys are riding a wave into rocks. Do the knowledge before you speak. #wutang," he tweeted.
According to scluzay.com, which is doing promotional work for the album, RZA said that Once Upon a Time in Shaolin will most likely be the final Wu-Tang Clan record. When pressed about the fact that the album costs millions of dollars, the rapper explained that the effort is "a piece of history" and "a seal to a legacy."
