The United States government has released new photos of Wu-Tang Clan‘s famed Once Upon a Time in Shaolin album.
Buzzfeed obtained the the bill of sale and pictures of the album by a Freedom of Information Act request. The imagery sent by the Department of Justice includes the album’s leather-covered nickel silver box and cedarwood box storage, a 175-page leather-bound lyric book and a certificate of authenticity. Photographs of the two CDs, the song titles and aspects of the lyric book were redacted, however, due to “trade secrets.”
In October 2021, a group of crypto enthusiasts called PleasrDAO confirmed that they purchased Once Upon a Time in Shaolin from the federal government for $4 million USD. Unlike the album’s previous owner, Martin Shkreli, PleasrDAO plans on sharing the Wu-Tang record with the world. “This beautiful piece of art, this ultimate protest against middlemen and rent-seekers of musicians and artists, went south by going into the hands of Martin Shkreli, the ultimate internet villain,” Jamis Johnson, PleasrDAO’s Chief Pleasing Officer, said.
Take a look at the imagery below.
NEW: @BuzzFeedNews & I sued the govt under #FOIA for docs about it’s sale of Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. We obtained amazing new pics of it, bill of sale, purchase agreement & more. But govt claims sale price of album is a trade secret! https://t.co/SYZCL14IpO pic.twitter.com/2JjKPLM2wN
— Jason Leopold (@JasonLeopold) January 5, 2022
Thanks to our #FOIA atty @jloevy for working to get these Wu-Tang docs released on our behalf! pic.twitter.com/3Oeqkw27Wo
— Jason Leopold (@JasonLeopold) January 5, 2022
Elsewhere in music, Nas is selling the royalty rights to two of his songs as NFTs.
Tagged: entertainment blog, music, music blog