From the moment the Wu-Tang Clan splashed onto the scene with their classic album, "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)," they instantly became hip-hop heroes to millions of fans, and are still revered today as rap legends.
How revered? Well, enough for one wealthy fan to shell out millions for the group's secret album, "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin." Forbes confirmed the news Tuesday that the LP was sold to a "private American collector" via the online house Paddle8.
Although the buyer's name remains anonymous, that hasn't stopped the Internet from making guesses as to who the customer might be, with one report even wondering if it's movie director Quentin Tarantino. Whether or not it's Tarantino who bought the album, the owner can of course listen to it all he or she pleases, but won't be able to release the music publicly for 88 years, under the conditions of the purchase.
The album was purposely made to be a 1-of-1 copy, as the mastermind vision of Wu-Tang's leader RZA, who wanted to restore value to music — a quality he feels might have gotten lost in the shuffle with the digital age of downloading, streaming and the overall quick consumption of music.
"For art to change the way people think, it has to come from an extreme place," RZA told Forbes. "No monumental change ever started with a compromise or a small shift. It starts extreme."
For the hefty price tag, the secret album reportedly comes with its fair share of accouterments ranging from the silver-plated box that holds the LP to a leather-bound 174-page manuscript about the album and detailed stories behind each song. It even comes with customized PMC MB2-XBD speakers, which are valued at $55,000.
