Wu-Tang producer RZA has spoken on the reported last Wu album, Once Upon A Time in Shoalin, saying there will only be one copy sold to the highest bidder. Surprisingly, however, the crew is making sure their final album is treated like a true piece of art, as the public won't be able to get their hands on it for 88 years. RZA and fellow producer Tarik "Cilvaringz" Azzourgarh explained why to Scluzay.com.

"Initially we wanted the buyer to do whatever he wanted with it," producer Cilvaringz says. "But when we realized how much commercial interest there was, we began to understand that allowing it to play out in that way would undermine its trajectory as an art piece, even if no amount of replication could touch the original. We felt that retail commercialization and mass replication would dilute the status of the album as a one-off work of art and compromise the integrity of our statement...So we decided that the right to release the album would be transferred only after 88 years have passed."

RZA added, "When you buy a painting or a sculpture, you are buying that piece rather than the right to replicate it. Owning a Picasso doesn't mean you can sell prints or reproductions, but that you are the sole owner of a unique original. And that's what 'Once Upon A Time In Shaolin' is – it's a unique original rather than a master copy of an album."

He also explained why 88 years is the number of choice.

"Anyone who knows the Wu-Tang Clan knows that we often apply numerology, mathematics and symbolism to the things we do," RZA says. "There were 8 original members of the Clan when we made 'Protect Ya Neck' and 'M.E.T.H.O.D Man.' The individual numbers of this year also add up to the number 8. The broker of this work carries the number 8 in its name. The number 8 on its side is a symbol of infinity, as it was used on our album 'Wu-Tang Forever'. You can call it mathematical coincidence, but it's always had great symbolic significance for us. For us it also addresses the issue of music's longevity in a time of mass production and short attention spans. Nothing about this record revolves around short-term gains, but rather around the legacy of the music and the statement we're making."

Check out pics of Wu-Tang above. Do you think the album will end up leaking in the end? Will Wu-Tang's final material stand the test of time? Sound off below.

Source: Scluzay