The rare Wu-Tang album is an uncomfortable subject for the group, says Method Man

The Wu-Tang Clan’s album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” has been the center of controversy for years, with ownership changes and legal battles. Member Method Man expressed his discomfort with the project, calling it a “circus spectacle” and revealing that it was never intended to be a Wu-Tang Clan album. Instead, an unnamed financier pieced together old and new verses from the group. The album was famously purchased by Martin Shkreli in 2015 for $2 million and later auctioned off to PleasrDAO for $4.75 million in 2021. PleasrDAO recently filed a civil suit against Shkreli for holding onto copies of the album and playing it online, resulting in a temporary restraining order. To move closer to releasing the full project, PleasrDAO offered a five-minute sampler of “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” for $1 on their website. A hearing is scheduled for August 23 to address the matter further. The chaotic history of the album has left many of the Wu-Tang Clan members feeling uneasy about discussing it, with Method Man emphasizing that the group was unaware of the true nature of the project when it was being created.

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