Last year, Wu-Tang Clan announced plans to sell a one-of-a-kind record called The Wu – Once Upon A Time In Shaolin. And they meant “one-of-a-kind” in the most literal sense, scheming to auction off a single copy of the record for millions of dollars. As Forbes reports, they’ve done just that.
Earlier today, an unnamed American collector purchased the album via a Paddle8 auction for a price that’s only been identified as “in the millions.” The album comes encased in a custom-made nickel and silver box and also contains a gold leaf certificate of authenticity as well as a pair of PMC MB2-XBD speakers valued at $55,000.
Despite the high sticker price, the album’s new owner will not be allowed to sell copies of the record thanks to an 88-year copyright (a decision that was not popular with all the Wu affiliates). This means he or she can literally never reveal the Wu-Tang secret. The new owner can, however, tour the record to museums across the globe as the Wu originally intended to. Until then, you can revisit the 51-second preview clip released earlier and hope you miraculously live long enough to hear the whole thing.
