Wu-Tang Clan‘s one-copy album gets a new look in Netflix’s trailer for The Disciple: A Wu-Tang Fable, released Monday before the documentary’s October 16 streaming debut.
In 2015, the American hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan released a single copy of their seventh studio album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin”. Feeling that the value of music had been cheapened by online streaming, the group decided to make it a piece of fine art – and have the associated value attached. The only copy, sealed in a silver chest, was purchased in 2015 for $1.5 million, making it the most expensive work of music ever sold. The sale had one legal condition: it could not be made commercially available until the year 2103 – although it can be heard at listening parties.
The album was recorded in secret over six years and the record, as well as the story of how it came to be, has become the stuff of legend for hip-hop fans. The album has also had somewhat of a troubled past being involved in a number of law suits as well as being owned at one point by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Now, a new documentary titled “The Disciple: A Wu-Tang Fable” is heading to Netflix on October 16th and tells the albums story – from its unlikely origins through to its controversial reception. Check out the synopsis below as well as the brand new trailer.