RZA says he has no issue with how pharma slimeball Martin Shkreli chooses to spend his money and that he’s still keeping the $2 million that Skreli paid for an exclusive Wu-Tang Clan album. Good, thinking like a capitalist…
The news came out in December that former pharmaceuticals CEO Shkreli had purchased the sole copy of Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin for $2 million. This was, of course, prior to karma striking Shkreli in the balls re: his arrest for fraud.
While a homeless charity opted to return a previous $15,000 donation from Shkreli, RZA is doing no such thing. The $2 million is already in the bank.
The Wu leader discussed his feelings on the Wu transaction in an interview with Bloomberg TV this week, explaining that he initially met Shkreli for lunch during the album’s auction period.
“He did mention his love of hip-hop. And I mentioned to him the importance that I think this record is to the legacy of hip-hop,” says RZA. “Not even 60 days later, he put a strong offer in.” As for first impressions, RZA says he knew nothing about Shkreli’s background—“I didn’t get a chance to read him. We talked briefly about where he comes from, briefly about what Wu-Tang means.”
In response to whether he’s bothered now that he knows more about Shkreli, RZA says he’s neutral and that it’s up to Shkreli to make the most of his purchase. And thus one capitalist act begets another.
“He bought it, he can do what he wants,” says RZA. “The beautiful thing about art, from my standpoint, is that it has no discrimination…What we’ve done is historical, and you can’t remove that.”
RZA adds, “He has the power to do something really cool. If he wants to be philanthropic, he can do something that could allow more people to hear the record.”
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Image via Bloomberg
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