Nfts
Acclaimed rap group’s rare album to be turned into NFT
It is considered one of the most expensive and rarest albums ever produced. But now you might be able to hear it. Maybe.
A single copy of Wu-Tang Clan’s album, “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” was made in 2014. It was ultimately purchased for $2 million by disgraced “pharmaceutical brother” Martin Shkreli. An online art collective known as PleasrDAO then I bought the album for $4 million in 2021.
This collective has now “digitized and encrypted” the album into a non-fungible token or NFT and has started sale of access to him Thursday, according to Fork, the New York Times and other information sites.
For $1 (plus fees), you can access this online version of “Shaolin,” but only a five-minute excerpt is available at the moment.
The original contract stated that the album could not be released to the general public until October 2103, but PleasrDAO stated that each $1 purchase would increase the album’s release by 88 seconds.
“Mass replication has fundamentally changed the way we perceive a piece of recorded music, while digital universality and the disappearance of physicality have severed our emotional connection to a piece of music as a work of art and deeply personal treasure,” producers RZA and Cilvaringz said in a statement. .
“This album sale is not limited to music; it’s about redefining how we think about music ownership and fan collaboration in the digital age,” said Matt Matkov, a PleasrDAO representative:
Shkreli was sued by PleasrDAO earlier this month, claiming he had copied the album and distributed it online without permission.
There is another way to listen to the album without having to buy an NFT. It will be performed publicly as part of an exhibition at the Australian Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) from June 15-24.