Wu-Tang Clan will soon release Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, a secretly recorded album that won't be made commercially available. Instead, it'll be manufactured as a single copy and tour through museums and galleries before being sold to the highest bidder. RZA claims that they've already received a $5 million bid. Now, two Wu-Tang fans named Russell Meyer and Calvin Okoth-Obbo are trying to raise the money via Kickstarter to purchase the album and share it with other Wu-Tang fans.
"I can’t imagine RZA being upset if enough Wu-Tang fans get together and raise enough money to purchase [the album]," Meyer said in an interview with DNAinfo New York. "We don’t want some guy in Dubai who literally has money to burn to buy it as a collector item that only six people will get to listen to."
Their plan is to raise the funds, then distribute it digitally should they emerge as the high bidder. What would happen to the physical copy is still up in the air. "We could rock-paper-scissors to see who gets to hold it," Okoth-Obbo said. "Or we could do a vote or raffle of all backers to see who keeps it. It’s not about ownership, it’s about getting it out there. We’d rather just get the musical content and be able to share that with the people who want to be able to appreciate it."
As Kickstarters go, this one is fairly decentralized. There's only a single rewards tier entitling the backer to a digital copy of the album, which is reached with the donation of a dollar.
The "Risks and challenges" section of the Kickstarter reads:
It's a noble, if difficult goal: As of press time, they'd raised $52 out of $5 million. Still, there's 52 days to go.
Watch the video for "C.R.E.A.M.":