Punk'd Rock
New York magazine|July 10–23, 2017

The (presumably) true story behind the (hugely failed) stunt that turned into one of the weirdest news events in pop-culture history. By David Marchese

David Marchese
Punk'd Rock

THE SAGA of the Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin album, which unfolded in 2015, seemed both too good to be true and too good to ignore. There was the outlandish conceit: The iconic rap group had recorded an entire new album, of which it was producing only a single copy. There was the over-the-top villain: pharma-industry gremlin Martin Shkreli, who, in what appeared to be a trolling act of conspicuous consumption, bought the copy of the album for a reported $2 million (the exact number has never been officially confirmed) in order to hoard it for himself. And there was the whiff of illicit high jinks: A rumored clause in the sale contract suggested that the Clan (or, weirdly, Bill Murray) could legitimately retrieve the album from Shkreli if they managed to nab it from him in a heist. (Because of course there has to be a Bill Murray angle.) As with all too-good-to-be-true stories, this one turned out to be part truth, part rumor, part hoax, and all ridiculous.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 10–23, 2017 من New York magazine.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 10–23, 2017 من New York magazine.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

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