Overview
- On Oct. 16 journalist Pablo Torre, working with PleasrDAO, played selections from Once Upon a Time in Shaolin for Method Man and the podcast published two short audio snippets and his reaction.
- Method Man said the record surprised him, praising Cilvaringz’s production and saying “I don’t hate it,” while also noting some tracks felt long and reiterating past concerns about how his contributions were used.
- The album was created by RZA and producer Cilvaringz as a deliberately single physical artifact, sold to Martin Shkreli in 2015, seized by the U.S. government after his conviction, and bought by PleasrDAO in 2021 to satisfy a forfeiture judgment.
- Public access remains tightly limited because the original sale contract bars commercial release until 2103 and PleasrDAO has only authorized rare listening events and brief snippets.
- The Netflix documentary The Disciple and the Torre session have shifted attention from mythology and legal chain of custody back to the music itself and reignited questions about artist consent, who controls cultural works, and how PleasrDAO will balance stewardship with public access.