The de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan has opened up on the multi-millionaire’s purchase of one-off LP Once Upon a Time in Shaolin
Martin Shkreli first appeared in the mainstream media as the man behind a widely-condemned price rise on antiparasitic drug Daraprim. He then went on to be the highest bidder on Wu-Tang Clan’s one-off LP, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, and soon after that, was arrested by the FBI on charges of securities fraud.
Fans have roundly denounced Shkreli as the sole owner of the album and have raised questions on how Shkreli was allowed to purchase the album. RZA has now spoken out on the matter.
In the interview with Bloomberg Politics, RZA maintains that he didn’t know exactly who Shkreli was when he bought the album (“I couldn’t measure if he was a guy in college, or – I couldn’t get it, you know what I mean?”), responds to Shkreli’s description of RZA as “arrogant”, and defends the rap group’s decision to auction only one copy of the album off to the highest bidder (“What could backfire from creating a piece of art, having an idea and see it grow into fruition?…The power of art is that even if it is the greatest man in the world who wanted to possess it… if my enemy came to an auction, and was like “I want that picture of RZA, just to throw darts at it”, it’s being auctioned, so… I could never discriminate who appreciates art”).
He also suggested what Shkreli could do with the album. “He bought it, he can do what he wants, right?… He has the power to do something really cool. If he wants to be philanthropic, he could do something that allows more people to hear the record. And that would be something really good for art and good for the Wu fans.”
Watch the full four-minute interview above.
