Only one copy of the 128-minute double-album Once Upon A Time In Shaolin exists, and the ‘‘world’s rarest” million-dollar album will soon be on a listening loan in Australia.
A secretly recorded album by hip-hop greats Wu-Tang Clan dubbed the world’s rarest has been loaned to a Tasmanian museum.
Only one copy of the 128-minute double-album Once Upon A Time In Shaolin exists on two CDs, which were pressed in 2014 after six years of clandestine recordings.The 31-track work, which is enclosed in a hand-carved nickel-silver box, was stored in a vault in Morocco before being auctioned.
It has changed hands several times before being bought by digital art collective Pleasr in 2021 for $US4 million ($6.4 million).
Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) on Tuesday announced the album would be on display from June 15-24 as part of its Namedropping exhibit.
Wu-Tang Clan's Once Upon A Time in Shaolin album will go on display at Mona in Hobart next month. Photo / MONA
The gallery will also host ticketed free listening parties in which a curated 30-minute mix of the album will be played from a personalised Wu-Tang Clan PlayStation 1.
A legal agreement means the album cannot be commercially exploited until 2103, although it can be played at listening parties.
”Every once in a while, an object on this planet possesses mystical properties that transcend its material circumstances,” MONA director of curatorial affairs Jarrod Rawlins said.
”(It) is more than just an album, so when I was thinking about status, and what a transcendent Namedrop could be, I knew I had to get it into this exhibition.”
Wu-Tang Clan formed in New York in 1992 and are considered one of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time.
The album’s master tracks were deleted and it cannot be streamed or downloaded.
MONA says it has only been heard by a handful of people around the world and it is the first loan to a museum since the original sale.
Wu-Tang Clan perform on stage for the Wu-Tang Clan The Saga Continues... The Las Vegas Residency - Opening Night at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas on February 9, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
In a statement, Pleasr said it was honoured to partner with MONA to support Wu-Tang Clan’s vision.
”Ten years ago, the Wu-Tang Clan had a bold vision to make a single-copy album as a work of fine art,” Pleasr said.
”To ‘put it in an art gallery … make music become a living piece like a Mona Lisa or a sceptre from Egypt.’.
”With this single work of art, the Wu-Tang Clan’s intention was to redefine the meaning of music ownership and value in a world of digital streaming and commodification of music.”
The group has said the album “encapsulates the Clan’s legendary dark funk and avant-garde sound and is produced in the original Wu-Tang style of the ‘90s”.
Tickets for the listening parties will be up for grabs at 10am on Thursday.
