method man admits martin shkreli and that bum cilvaringz ended wu tangs career

[mr rusev]

"Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin album remained a sore subject for the group’s members. Method Man discussed his issues with the project in an interview with Vanity Fair. The legendary rapper admitted he and his fellow Wu-Tang members do their best to avoid the topic.

“I thought it was some circus spectacle,” Method Man said. “I never really spoke to RZA about it; it’s an uncomfortable subject to most of the guys, so we don’t really discuss it too much.”

Once Upon a Time in Shaolin was spearheaded by Wu-Tang affiliate Cilvaringz. The album garnered significant publicity since only one copy was created. It was auctioned off for $2 million in 2015, making it the world’s most expensive album.

The infamous “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli bought Wu-Tang’s rare album. Terms of the deal prevented the project’s owner from releasing it to the public until October 2103. The U.S. government seized Once Upon a Time In Shaolin after Shkreli was convicted of securities fraud


PleasrDAO purchased Once Upon a Time in Shaolin for $4 million in 2021. The new owner started selling access to the album as a $1 NFT in June. Fans did not receive the album in full as they were forced to settle for a sampler created by Cilvaringz. PleasrDAO claimed each $1 purchase would shave 88 seconds off the album’s 2103 release date.


Wu-Tang fans might balk at paying anything for the album because the Clan did not knowingly create Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. Method Man and other members viewed the project as a glorified compilation concocted by Cilvaringz, not a legitimate Wu-Tang album.

“The process of the thing being made was never told to us,” Method Man explained to Vanity Fair. “We were never told what it was. It was never supposed to be a Wu-Tang album. We were recording and being paid to do a certain amount of records by a guy whose name I don’t want to mention.”

He continued, “[Cilvaringz] took all these verses—some of them were old verses—and put them altogether into a compilation of Wu-Tang songs and marketed it as a Wu-Tang album, and a single copy of a Wu-Tang album. We all had a problem with it because that’s not how it was described to us.”

PleasrDAO filed a lawsuit against Shkreli over Once Upon a Time in Shaolin in June. PleasrDAO accused the album’s former owner of violating a forfeiture order by retaining copies of the music."



https://allhiphop.com/news/method-ma...ect-for-group/

[9th Chamber]

https://variety.com/2024/music/news/...236076241/amp/

[9th Chamber]

Pretty crazy quote.

"We were recording and being paid to do a certain amount of records by a guy whose name I don’t want to mention"

[Shaolinmonk]

Wonder if Cilvaringz will respond and this is exactly the type of stuff that people have brought up, especially with the "copy and paste" stuff regarding OUATIS. It's clear Method is still not behind it and nobody really is. Silly that Variety didn't know about the album samplers in Tasmania and NYC, but maybe the interview was before all of that.

[Mumm Ra]

the album was made for personal glorification at the expense of playing with 9 men's careers, legacy and self respect. mission accomplished.

[ForensikZ]

the album was made for personal glorification at the expense of playing with 9 men's careers, legacy and self respect. mission accomplished.

jesus…. That was strong.

i mean i was mad at this when it didnt drop but im not sure this hurt wu. They werent going on worldwide 5 continent tours BEFORE the album dropped and they made the press every few months about it. Id say the news of it far outweighed what the music could be.

it couldnt happen without rza. And the amount of times guys like rae and ghost have ruined wu albums by shitting on them before they drop and influencing the fan base (all while rae was dropping duds), i almost dont blame him for taking a freebie.

tho this is a super complicated matter, thats why i font even think of it anymore. Wanna hear the music, everytning else im done discussing.

[josborne3680]

I agree on the circus part. I know some people on here like “the story” and it kept the Wu buzz alive. No pun intended. However, your average person just knows it as Wu selling an album to a rich douche bag. Peace

[wt36]

Sorry Ringz case closed on our little discussion. 36 or Forever like this was not.

[Goldenchild]

Ethical or unethical, this is what it takes to create a great Wu album. If you have to bamboozle the artists involved, then so be it. But based on the leaked songs I heard, this “okey doke Yakub” experiment was well worth it. The music speaks for itself, so I’m not attacking Cilva anymore, no matter how underhanded the process may have been

[hotnikks]

This album seems faker than a 3 dollar bill. Not worth all the hype at all

[ShaolinArtStudent]

I've said it once and I'll say it again: While the copy and paste stuff does degrade the album and it makes it seem less majestic and such, I do feel and agree with Method Man that this definitely damaged Wu's image and reputation.

Regardless how you feel with the whole "fans got 20+ years of music" and such, considering that the Wu-Tang Clan came from poor backgrounds and such and understand the struggle of youth and young people within our world, especially from places like Staten Island, deciding to make an album ONLY accessible to a rich bastard and then put an annoying clause to keep it from the public is just even more insulting.


I can bet that when people bring up the name "Wu-Tang Clan", chances are someone is gonna go "oh yeah they sold that one album to that rich asshole".

And that's not even getting to how even RZA, who kept preaching how this was such a great thing and how he didn't "regret" selling it to Shkreli (which is laughable because he kept changing his mind about it), barely acknowledges it unless someone asks him about it.

And while the Clan seems to only acknowledge 36 Chambers/Wu-Tang Forever or repeatedly remember people to PROTECT YA NECK, there's no doubt that before OUATIS, everyone at least had a love for the W logo they always proudly shown. And now that's tarnished after this album.

And while PleasrDOA somewhat meditated this with their whole crypto purchase of the album, who the hell knows when the album will finally be unlocked. I used to peep at their twitter every few days to see if there was something I was missing, but it's just the same shtick and the countdown is still on 78 years. Even if the album does come out by some magical bull, it isn't going to live up to the hype. And I think RZA knows this, but would rather live in his own world praising the album as an art piece when the release and execution could have been far better than what we got in this timeline.

I don't really think Ringz is the villain here, since he has made it clear he did put his heart and soul into the album, regardless of "copy and pasting", but it's very much there that to him, this was the only way to get his work appreciated since to most people, he's just "The Wu associate close to RZA". And I don't neccesary blame him for it, since I do feel the entire idea was RZA's idea, not his. He just wanted to make an album and get it known to the world. And I feel if RZA hadn't barged in with his "let's make it 88 years/sell one copy", his work would be better appreciated.

Honestly nobody really wins aside from RZA getting some attention.

I'm still curious about OUATIS, but I sure as hell am not going to keep checking PleasrDOA's twitter for the updates until I see the headline or post that says "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin is released". Because for the past nine-ten years, it's been an endless tug of war of wanting to hear this album and that hope was dwindled thanks to the constant teases.

[JZA/Jordon]

The idea that this hurt the Clan in any way is 100% flat out wrong and a true reflection why the Generals have such a hard time understanding their own marketing...

This project has made the Wu-Tang Clan brand folklore and legendary plus an unbelievable amount of free press.

The Clan continues to make music it's fans don't like, while Ringz made the album that we all wanted... we just may or may not be able to hear it in full in our lifetimes.

[ShaolinArtStudent]

You SAY that ....

[3rdEyeVizion]

RZA must correct errors to make up for this failor by giving the fans a real album.

[ShaolinArtStudent]

I absolutely don't get the justification of this. While I do believe that artists have the freedom to express themselves against the boundaries of the fans, flat out trying to shrug off how RZA gave the fanbase a middle finger with this album, even if it is a copy/paste format is just eye rolling.

Maybe it's just me because I'm not a huge Wu follower as everyone else here, but I can imagine for a casual fan seeing this type of thing and then hearing how this album "is not for the fans" is pretty cringe inducing, especially with the defensing of it. As if half are gonna survive up to 2103.

Bonk and PEACE yall, float to yall heaven magic.