Wu-Tang Clan's Secret Album Saga Gets New Netflix Trailer
Wu-Tang Clan’s one-copy album and Cilvaringz’s rise drive Netflix’s new trailer ahead of The Disciple’s October 16 debut.
Netflix Trailer Highlights:
- The film follows Tarik Azzougarh, the Dutch-Moroccan rapper and producer known as Cilvaringz, from fan to collaborator.
- His connection to Wu-Tang led to Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, the album sold as a single physical copy for a reported $2 million in 2015.
- The trailer contrasts the art-world ambitions of the project with the anger of fans who wanted to hear the music.
- Speakers compare the single-copy plan to the Mona Lisa and question selling the record to the highest bidder.
"There’s very few cases where a fan actually gets to stand beside the man and add onto the man’s legacy," RZA said in a statement accompanying the film.
Album's Creation and Controversy:
- Cilvaringz signed with RZA’s Razor Sharp Records, toured with Wu-Tang, and produced tracks before assembling the 31-song project through years of recording sessions in Europe.
- The idea was to give recorded music the value and rarity of a physical artwork, but the original deal barred a commercial release until 2103.
- In 2024, Method Man challenged how the album had been presented to Wu-Tang’s members. He claimed they had been paid to record songs without being told those verses would become part of this project.
Martin Shkreli purchased the record in 2015 and subsequently lost it through forfeiture tied to his securities-fraud conviction. The Justice Department sold the album in July 2021.
- PleasrDAO bought the record in 2021 and announced a $1 digital sale designed to unlock portions of the music over time.
- The Disciple: A Wu-Tang Fable premieres on Netflix on October 16.