Grantland listened to 13-minutes of Wu-Tang's 'Once Upon a Time in Shaolin'

Eventually, the album (and, yes, the box) will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Its eventual owner will be able to do whatever he wants to with it, up to not ever letting anyone hear it. Ever. The idea, as its progenitors are eager to remind us, is to create a piece of music that stands alongside a piece of visual art, in singular glory. RZA says the best-case scenario is Richard Branson buying the thing and shooting it into outer space. And even if it stays earthbound, all digital copies have supposedly been destroyed and, technically, the commercial rights stay with Wu for [clears throat] 88 years. So these dudes are looking us in the face and telling us we may not hear it until President Chelsea Clinton’s daughter is running what is left of postapocalyptic America. But we did get to hear 13 minutes of the thing — to date, the only 13 minutes that will ever be played publicly. And it sounded like — THE GREATEST BIT OF MUSIC MINE EARS HAVE YET TO HEAR. LIKE TWO UNICORNS HIGH-FIVING WHILE ALSO DOING YOUR TAXES. ALSO AT ONE POINT GHOSTFACE SHOUTS OUT TOMMY HILFIGER.

Outside of throwing up the ROC in a body scanner, the scene was very airport TSA. So to say that I was in a bitter place upon finally reaching my seat is a gross understatement.

But like you said, Amos, over the course of the spectacle — the late-to-start spectacle — I was also sold. When the music began, I looked around and appreciated that we were in a dome, in darkness, with the exception of dimly lit spots surrounding the dome, two bright-red Exit signs, and the spotlight, which was shining directly on the BOX.

It felt like a stunt, but the more RZA talked, it’s clear he doesn’t see it as a stunt. He sees it as a way to try to make a tidal shift in the music industry. He sees the music that he and his brothers make as art. He brought up the Mona Lisa. Yes, the part of the story that gets the attention is about no one potentially ever hearing it, but the real takeaway is that there’s only one.