Tassie’s already calling, but hold up – Wu-Tang’s rare album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, is hitting MONA’s Namedropping show!
The legendary Wu-Tang Clan‘s one-of-a-kind album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, is about to have a museum moment. This record, famously dubbed the “world’s rarest album,” will be on loan to Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) for their upcoming exhibition, Namedropping.
Remember that extravagant silver box that fetched a cool $2 million back in 2014? Yep, that’s the one. This unique piece of music history was created to be more than just an album; it’s a conceptual art piece. There’s only one physical copy in existence, and the Wu-Tang Clan even destroyed the digital masters to emphasize the value of music in the age of streaming.
The album’s ownership journey has been a bit of a wild ride. After its initial purchase by pharma bro Martin Shkreli, it was later seized by the feds and then acquired by PleasrDAO, a digital art collective, in 2021. True to their word about making the music more accessible, PleasrDAO has loaned the album to MONA.
Here’s the exciting part: during the Namedropping exhibition (from June 15th to 24th), MONA will be hosting exclusive listening parties! Lucky attendees will get a chance to hear a curated 30-minute snippet of the album, played on a one-of-a-kind Playstation designed by the Wu-Tang Clan themselves.
Catch the legendary Wu-Tang Clan’s “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” on display at MONA, but move fast! This museum masterpiece is there for a limited run (June 15-24) with exclusive listening parties. (Tickets available here)
