Anyone who wants to become a public prosecutor usually has to be very smart and hardworking. After all, there are a lot of laws to learn. Hip-hop, on the other hand, is not part of the law curriculum. Which does not mean that you as a prosecutor could not come into contact with it.
It was Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, the acting state attorney for the Eastern District of New York, who announced something in a press release on Tuesday that should interest hip-hop fans worldwide. One of the most coveted albums on the planet has changed hands: the US has sold “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” by the New York band “Wu-Tang Clan” – a record of which only one copy exists. There should be no talk of buyer and purchase price because of an agreement.
The decorated case of the album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin”
(Photo: – / dpa)
It is not known whether Prosecutor Kasulis likes thick basses and punchlines. However, the sale was not made out of private interests either. The album is part of the rather unbelievable story of a man who turned against millions of people and was sentenced to seven years in prison for fraud in 2018. With the proceeds of the record, his remaining debts to US authorities are now to be paid.
The man’s name is Martin Shkreli, born in Brooklyn / New York. Someone who knew early on that he wanted to play in the world of big money. In his mid-twenties he founded his own hedge fund, and in 2011 he became a pharmaceutical entrepreneur. The business model: buy up rarely used drugs and increase their price. In 2015 he became internationally known. He and his company Turing had bought a 62-year-old drug and increased the price by a factor of 5,000 almost overnight.
He finally lost it with hip-hop fans when he bought the Wu-Tang record for a rumored two million dollars – and delighted in the fact that other people could not hear it. It should stay that way for the time being. Peter Scoolidge, the buyer’s attorney, said aloud New York Timesthat his client had to stick to the original contract, according to which the record could not be published commercially for 88 years. At least he was apparently allowed to listen in on it himself. His conclusion: “This is awesome, man!”