Last month, the Wu-Tang Clan announced their plans for a one-of-a-kind album project dubbed The Wu – Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, to be released as a single, intricately crafted work of art that will be toured around the world like a Renaissance painting. Clan leader RZA disclosed that he had already received offers upward of $5 million for the piece, but two Wu fans want you to own it too.
Calling themselves ‘Fans of Wu Tang the World Over,’ they’ve launched a Kickstarter campaign in the hopes of raising the necessary $5 million via crowdsourcing. Russell Meyers and Calvin Okoth-Obbo of Queens say they want to keep the album out of the hands of “some Saudi oil baron’s kid.”
While crowdsourcing $5 million for an album under unclear terms sound absurd, the pair are simply doing it for the love of Wu. “Let’s raise enough money to buy this album and then turn around and give it away for free… instead of some uber rich bastard keeping it to himself like a collector’s item.”
RZA has commented on the ownership implications of releasing a single copy of an album, saying he’s unsure of the buyer’s rights, however “if somebody was to buy it and say ‘I’m gonna resell it,’ I don’t see where there’s a problem with that, in all reality. But we’re still doing research on it.”
Who do Russell and Calvin see the copy residing with? “We could rock-paper-scissors to see who gets to hold it,” the latter told DNAinfo New York. “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.”
At the time of writing, their campaign has raised $1,057 (under 0.1 percent of their goal). Pledges close 9th June and the boys say that if by some odds they can’t secure the LP, there will be a vote to either refund backers’ money or use it to fund a “Wu-Tang related project” such as a concert.
