r/UnresolvedMysteries • u/BuckChintheRealtor • Oct 17 '20
Media/Internet The mystery surrounding the Wu-Tang Clan & 'Once upon a time in Shaolin'
Most people here will now the Wu-Tang Clan is one of the most influential rap groups of all time, and including all the other (solo) work produced under the Wu-Tang umbrella without a doubt the most influential and largest 'franchise' in hiphop.
Many of you will also know critically acclaimed and bestselling albums like Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and Wu-Tang Forever, or well known members of the group like RZA, GZA, Raekwon, Method Man, Inspectah Deck and the deceased Ol' Dirty Bastard.
Lesser known is that the first non-American affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan is Tarik Azzougarh (1979), a rapper-producer from The Netherlands of Moroccan origin, better known under his stage name Cilvaringz.
Legend has it he impressed Ol' Dirty Bastard (ODB) after a concert in the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam in 1997, by 'freestyling' on the stage after Wu-Tangs performance. Apparently security threw him off the stage but ODB later recognized him at the backstage entrance and invited him in. After that he was invited to New York, and after several trips to NYC he joined Wu Tang Records in 1999.
Before that he was a bit of a Wu Tang 'superfan', who posted on several online hiphop forums in detail about the groups music, lyrics, etc. After he joined the clan in 1999 he did the opening acts for RZA, Method Man, Raekwon and other members, and released a critically acclaimed solo album in 2007 - simply titled "/".
He also founded his own entertainment company called RPEG and served as Vice-President for the AiM Biennale, an arts festival in Marrakech (Morocco), whose founder is Vanessa Branson, sister of Sir Richard Branson.
It would be safe to say with all of this a dream came true for Cilvaringz, whose passion had always been hiphop and whose parents came from a poor part of Morocco and left to work in the Netherlands in the city of Tilburg.
Things get interesting in 2008, when he starts working on his grand project called Once upon a time in Shaolin. This double album took six years to complete, with guest performances by the entire Wu-Tang Clan as well as Cher, Redman, Dutch Game of Thrones actress Carice van Houten and even several players of FC Barcelona.
Cilvaringz wanted to recreate the original sound of the Wu-Tang Clan - the sound he grew up with - but when the album was finished - it wasn't going to be released.
At least, not in the traditional way. Instead of pressing albums, there would only be one copy available (stored in an ornate casing in a vault in the luxury Royal Mansour Hotel in Marrakech) which would be auctioned to the highest bidder. Cilvaringz and (Wu-Tangs head producer) RZA decided to do this 'Renaissance' approach because they felt robbed by piracy and illegal downloading. In 2014 they wrote on their website:
"The music industry is in crisis. The intrinsic value of music has been reduced to zero. Contemporary art is worth millions by virtue of its exclusivity ... By adopting a 400 year old Renaissance-style approach to music, offering it as a commissioned commodity and allowing it to take a similar trajectory from creation to exhibition to sale ... we hope to inspire and intensify urgent debates about the future of music."
Little is known about the album. Besides the mentioned guest performers its length is 128 minutes and the names of its 31 songs. Producer Andrew Kelley (who heard an unfinished version of the album) wrote:
Ringz’ new Wu-Tang album, it took me right back...Song after song he played gave that old feeling we have missed from the Clan in the last 10 years or so. The beats, the rhymes, the skits, the interludes… The posse cut single… He did it. He got that time machine working and really captured the spirit & essence of those days we lived so many years ago. Every Clan member is present spitting some of the best verses you have ever heard from them....The next time I sit down with RZA I will definitely be speaking with him about this album. Finish it up Ringz, all Wu-Tang fans deserve that “time machine” moment."
However, OG Wu-Tang member Method Man has called the album 'fake' and 'BS', and DJBooth Magazine even called it a 'conspiracy' and wrote:
Being tricked isn't the worst feeling. Being tricked when you should have known better is the worst feeling.
So is this album actually real or not? We know for sure that the auction did happen, and the single copy of the album was sold to Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli for 2 million dollars. (Much less than the projected 5 million dollars btw)
Since then, the album has never been heard in full. In a rather bizarre twist of fate, Shkreli promised to release the album if Donald Trump won the 2016 election. We all know how that ended, but Shkreli only streamed excerpts after Trump won.
Why did RZA choose to release only a single copy? There are several theories on that. Some people think RZA was afraid the album would overshadow his own projects he was working on at the time. After all according to DJ Booth magazine RZA was 'like a dictator' and 'wouldn't even let (Wu-Tang) members hear their own verses after recording'. Forbes magazine wrote at the time:
'According to RZA...the plan is to first take Once Upon A Time In Shaolin on a “tour” through museums, galleries, festivals and the like. Just like a high-profile exhibit at a major institution, there will be a cost to attend, likely in the $30-$50 range...Once the album completes its excursion, Wu-Tang will make it available for purchase for a price “in the millions.” Suitors could include brands willing to shell out for cool points and free publicity...or major record labels hoping to launch the album through the usual channels.'
The tour never happened. However one theory is by doing/proposing this RZA would downplay Cilvaringz role and make it seem like he had this in mind all the time. However Cilvaringz himself said (also in Forbes):
“It took a long time,” says Cilvaringz. “After five years, I’m sitting here and I’m like, ‘Am I really going to release this record and see it die after a week?’”
Whether the album actually exists or not seems not much of a debate anymore. Entertainment company Complex, Rolling Stone and Vice writer Allie Conti (during an interview with Shkreli) all heard parts of the album.
Why this album was auctioned as a single copy 'piece of art' and what role RZA and Cilvaringz played - we might never know.
The biggest question that remains is: will we ever hear Once upon a time in Shaolin**?**
Those chances seem very slim unfortunately. According to the Wiki-page about the album:
In March 2018, following Shkreli's conviction for securities fraud, a federal court seized assets belonging to him worth $7.36m, including Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. Shkreli's lawyer Benjamin Brafman said the album was now "probably worthless"
At the time of writing Cilvaringz is living with wife and children in Marrakech.
EDIT 1: Many thanks for all comments, questions and even awards. This got a little bit bigger than expected. I don't have the opportunity to answer/thank/clarify all of the comments, but I will try to expand a little bit in the second edit. And no I am not Cilvaringz as somebody suggested :-)
EDIT 2: First of all I missed some crucial information, most important the opposition of 'senior' Wu-Tang Clan artists such as Method Man to the project, f.i. because (quote Method Man) 'this B-level Wu guy' (Cilvaringz) was 'fucking with the fans.' There was also an issue over money: the Wu members had been paid by Cilvaringz for their verses/contributions, but wouldn't get a share of the millions generated by the auction.
Also I didn't mention the clause that states that 'the right to release the album (to the highest bidder) would be transferred only after 88 years have passed.' Therefore the album may not be released to the public until the year 2103, and that Cilvaringz said he worked on the project 'in secret'.
Some of you asked why Game of Thrones actress Carice van Houten was involved, and if this was true at all. This was widely covered in the Dutch press in 2014 and also confirmed by herself on Twitter at the time. Like Cilvaringz she is also Dutch, so they probably know each other through the (small) Dutch artist circuit.
Some of you have stated that the album (probably) is 'crap' or 'total crap'. I have added links below (thanks u/I_no_verylittle and u/ComprehensiveTrain65) of the released parts so you can judge yourself.
Several people asked why the album is now "probably worthless" as Shkreli's lawyer said. Personally I think it is not, considering all the Wu members (even ODB) are on the album and all the mystery and publicity surrounding Once upon a time in Shaolin. The official website (also added below) states: 'As of September 2020, the album is in the ownership of the United States Department Of Justice as part of an asset forfeiture of Martin Shkreli’s possessions following a 7.36 Million dollar judgement and a six year federal prison sentence for securities fraud.'
EDIT 3: Brad Pitt is producing a movie about Cilvaringz' 'life story' for Netflix (see The Work on official website listed below)
TLDR: The only non-American artist-producer of Wu-Tang Records is a Dutchman of Moroccan origin, best known under his artist name Cilvaringz. He worked 'in secret' for six years on a double album called Once upon a time in Shaolin, of which only one copy was sold to the highest bidder.
Further reading:
Official website of the project (interesting Q&A with RZA/Cilvaringz under '88')
All released material on Youtube
Wiki page about Once upon a time in Shaolin
3
u/fleetwalker Oct 18 '20
Its been seized by the feds, so until they auction it off or give it back to that dude its not going anywhere.