Bring the ruckus, indeed. For Wu-Tang Clan’s Method Man, the group’s plans around the single-copy album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin have gone a step too far. And he’s not holding back on voicing his opinions. “That shit is stupid,” he said of the group’s plan to ensure the album can not be made available for 88 years after it is purchased in a private sale.
“Fuck that album. I’m tired of this shit and I know everybody else is tired of it, too,” Method Man said to XXL magazine on Wednesday. “Fuck that album, if that’s what they are doing. I haven’t heard anything like that, but if they’re doing crap like that, fuck that album. Straight up. I’m just keeping it 100. When music can’t be music and y’all turning it into something else, fuck that. Give it to the people, if they want to hear the shit, let them have it. Give it away free. I don’t give a fuck; that ain’t making nobody rich or poor. Give the fucking music out. Stop playing with the public, man.”
In case his views were unclear, he clarified his position on the 88-year stipulation. “I was cool with shit. But now, this is ridiculous. 88 years? Really? If that shit is true, that shit is stupid.”
Once Upon a Time in Shaolin is due to be sold through online auction house Paddle8 – not to the highest bidder, as in a typical auction, but in a private sale that will aim to separate the chancers from the serious purchasers. The sale opened on 2 March, though it appears that Method Man might not have heard that the album wouldn’t be available for commercial rerelease until, well, 2103.
Hours after XXL published their interview, Wu-Tang member RZA responded to both the magazine and Method Man on Twitter.
@xxl @methodman let us clarify for you. A 88 year "non commercialization"clause. Means corporations can't buy it & mass produce it for sell
— RZA! (@RZA) March 5, 2015
Once Upon a Time in Shaolin producer Tarik “Cilvaringz” Azzougarh backed RZA, tweeting: “Peace @rza , maybe the true Wu fans and the world would understand more if they checked this: http://scluzay.com/eighteight.”
Early on Thursday, RZA used two tweets to further respond to what no doubt was a flurry of messages sent in his direction: “I’m really enjoying the discussion you guys are having out there. You express your discontent of not be able to hear album … yet … lot of you are not listening to what is already in front of you. This has always been a single album concept. No surprises. #new idea.”
Method Man’s final take in XXL? Unimpressed: “You have to wait 88 years to hear some shit? By that time, it’s going to be fuckin’ played out. If it ain’t already played out. I hope that’s a rumor. Whoever said that, that shit is fuckin’ stupid.”
