Wu-Tang Clan premiered a snippet of its forthcoming The Wu – Once Upon A Time In Shaolinalbum to Forbes, the collection the group announced it would make and sell only one copy of.
Forbes writer Zack O’Malley traveled to Marrakesh, Morocco to go to the studio with Tarik “Cilvaringz” Azzougarh, the album’s producer.
“It’ll kind of show you the intensity that we managed to get,” Cilvaringz says.
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The snippet features Ghostface Killah and is available in the video below.
Cilvaringz describes the music as “raw,” “rugged.”
“Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, that title it’s because this is the final time that you’re going to be able to hear the guys as they were then,” the producer says. “It’s like nostalgic trip back to all those chambers, those styles. Here them one more time.”
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In March, it was announced that the Wu-Tang Clan will make and sell only one copy of its forthcoming The Wu – Once Upon A Time In Shaolin album.
Forbes said at the time that the album has 31 songs that clock in at 128 minutes. The RZA and the album’s primary producer, the Morocco-based Cilvaringz, want to take the album on a tour through festivals, galleries and museums, and charge a fee to listen to the album.
“The idea that music is art has been something we advocated for years,” RZA said. “And yet its doesn’t receive the same treatment as art in the sense of the value of what it is, especially nowadays when it’s been devalued and diminished to almost the point that it has to be given away for free.”
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RZA and Cilvaringz say they were inspired by Jay Z’s Samsung partnership for the release of Magna Carta Holy Grailand Nispey Hussle selling his Crenshaw mixtape for $100 a copy. Last month, RZA said he had a $5 million offer for the album.
“Offers came in at $2 million, somebody offered $5 million yesterday,” RZA says during an interview with Billboard. “I’ve been getting a lot of e-mails — some from people I know, some from people I don’t know, and they’re also e-mailing other members of my organization.
“So far, $5 million is the biggest number,” he continues. “I don’t know how to measure it, but it gives us an idea that what we’re doing is being understood by some. And there are some good peers of mine also, who are very high-ranking in the film business and the music business, sending me a lot of good will. It’s been real positive.”
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“I think it’s a musical portrait that’s going to revolutionize music in the future,” Masta Killa said to Forbes. “And I’m thankful to my brother Ringz, to collaborate with, and I’m ecstatic to be a part of it.”
The album will be housed in an engraved silver-and-nickel box that was handcrafted by British-Moroccan artist Yahya, whose works have been commissioned by royal families and business leaders around the world.
RELATED: Wu-Tang Clan Making & Selling One Copy Of “The Wu – Once Upon A Time In Shaolin” Album
