Method Man Reacts To Wu-Tang’s $4M Album: “I Do Not Hate This Album”

Method Man finally heard selections from Wu-Tang Clan’s “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” and his first review gave producer Cilvaringz some credit.

“I do not hate this album,” he said on “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” which aired the Brooklyn listening session on October 16. He praised his groupmates and Cilvaringz’s beats, then called the record a “valid piece of art.”

His praise came with limits. He thought some parts ran long and felt Cilvaringz leaned too close to RZA’s sound. He also said he had not sat through the full two-hour record. He wanted a further listen in private.

Method Man still questioned how his work became part of the project. He said he had not known the plan when he recorded his songs and might have contributed more had he understood it.

Those concerns predated the listening party. In 2024, Method Man called the album an uncomfortable subject for Wu-Tang’s members. He said they had been paid to record songs without being told those verses would form a single-copy Wu-Tang release. He viewed the result as a compilation rather than the group album he felt buyers had been promised.

The record’s history helped make it one of rap’s most debated projects. Martin Shkreli bought the sole physical copy in 2015. After his securities-fraud conviction, he forfeited it under a court order. The Justice Department sold the album in July 2021 and applied the proceeds toward his roughly $7.4 million forfeiture judgment.

Pleasr bought the record and said it paid $4 million. The art collective later put parts of the music within fans’ reach. In June 2024, it offered a $1 digital sampler as part of a plan to shorten the wait for a full public release. The original sale terms barred commercial release until 2103.

Netflix began streaming “The Disciple: A Wu-Tang Fable” on October 16. Director Joanna Natasegara traced Cilvaringz’s path from fan to producer, following the recording sessions and art-world ambitions behind a project that kept most listeners outside the room for years. RZA served as an executive producer, and the film marked Natasegara’s feature directing debut.