The rarest album in the world is set to be displayed in Australia
The world’s rarest album, recorded by the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, is set to go on display in an Australian art gallery. Visitors will be able to hear the music, which has only been heard by a select few people since its release.
The New York City hip-hop group released only a single physical copy of their seventh studio album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, in 2014. This unique copy was housed in a silver, jewel-encrusted box adorned with a wax seal of the Wu-Tang Clan logo and accompanied by leather-bound liner notes. With no digital downloads or streaming available, this album stands as one of the rarest and most enigmatic records ever produced.
After pressing the CD, the Clan stored it in a high-security vault at the Royal Mansour Hotel in Marrakech, Morocco. Wu-Tang Clan auctioned the record via Paddle8 the following year with a legal agreement detailing that the purchaser could not commercially exploit the music until 2103.
The collective added another clause to the agreement, which stated: “The buying party also agrees that at any time during the stipulated 88-year period, the seller may legally plan and attempt to execute one (1) heist or caper to steal back Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, which, if successful, would return all ownership rights to the seller. Said heist or caper can only be undertaken by currently active members of the Wu-Tang Clan and/or actor Bill Murray, with no legal repercussions.”
Over the past ten years, the CD has been involved in controversy and an FBI investigation due to the dealings of its former owner, Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turning Pharmaceuticals.
The album currently holds the record for the most expensive ever sold. It is currently on loan to Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art (Mona). Mona will host exclusive listening parties for ten days in June, during which the public can experience a curated 30-minute sample of the album as part of the Namedropping exhibition, which explores the concepts of status, notoriety, and “the human pursuit.”
“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 in a new statement. “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin is more than just an album, so… I knew I had to get it into this exhibition.”
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