Wu-Tang Clan Album owned by “Parma Bro” Martin Shkreli sold by U.S. Government

The U.S. Government has sold the one and only copy of the Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. The buyer and price of the sale is confidential.

The 31-track album was purchased by Martin Shkreli in 2015 for a reported amount of $2 million at an auction. The album was promoted as a “unique work of art” with no physical or digital duplicate in existence. It included appearances from the wider Wu-Tang family from Redman to Killarmy.

The purchase was made around the time that Shkreli and his company increased the HIV medication, Daraprim. The cost was increased by 55 times more than it originally was. This received a lot of hate around the world.

He had sole control over who could listen to the album. On his Periscope account he briefly streamed some of the album. It’s only been heard publicly when it was played for 13 minutes at the MoMA PS1 in 2015.

Shkreli was later convicted of securities fraud and sentenced to seven years in jail. The pharma bro was forced to hand it over to the U.S. government.

The press release statement read that the proceeds will “be applied to satisfy the outstanding balance owed on the Forfeiture money judgement,” the press release said.

Acting US Attorney Jacquelyn M. Kasulis said in a statement Tuesday. “Through the diligent and persistent efforts of this Office and its law enforcement partners, Shkreli has been held accountable and paid the price for lying and stealing from investors to enrich himself,” he continued “With today’s sale of this one-of-a-kind album, his payment of the forfeiture is now complete.”

Wu-Tang: An American Saga

In other Wu-Tang Clan news a new season of Wu-Tang: An AmericanSaga is going to drop 8th September. The first three episodes of the second season will drop all at once. Then on following Wednesday for the rest of the episodes.

The series tells the story of the formation of Wu-Tang clan at the height of the crack cocaine epidemic in New York in the 90s. The synopsis says “The Clan is disillusioned with life in the projects, and Bobby knows that success in the music industry could be their ticket to better lives. But getting the Clan members to drop everything for music isn’t easy. The resentment between Dennis, Sha, Power and Divine still runs deep, while the other Clan members struggle dealing with intercity life. This time around, Bobby is dedicated to authenticity and though he knows he can lead his crew through the challenges of the music business, the Clan’s fractures may prove too much to overcome.” Executive producers of the series are Wu-Tang Clan members The RZA and Method Man.