You’ve probably heard of the Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, but there’s little chance you’ve heard the album itself.
Only one copy was ever produced, and it was sold in 2015 for $2 million, earning it a place in the Guinness World Records as the most valuable album in history.
A decade later, the new documentary The Disciple, from Oscar-winning producer and first-time director Joanna Natasegara, reveals the wild and fascinating story of how Once Upon a Time in Shaolin came to be. The film debuted Friday at the Sundance Film Festival to a very warm reception.
The film follows Cilvaringz, a Dutch-Moroccan rapper-producer who became a student, protégé and collaborator with Wu Tang Clan mastermind RZA. Cilvaringz eventually gained enough trust and respect among the members of the Wu Tang clan and their affiliates, the Wu-Tang Killa Bees, to become the dominant creative force behind the album that would eventually become Once a Time in Shaolin.
The film recounts how the idea of pressing and selling just a single copy of the album originated on a trip Cilvaringz and RZA took to the Great Pyramid of Giza. And it explains the roller coaster of publicity that followed its creation.
A Short History of Cilvaringz and His Role in Once Upon a Time in Shaolin
At first, fans were intrigued by the idea of selling just one copy at auction. (Those seen as potentially interested parties included Leonardo DiCaprio.) A brief preview of 13 minutes of the album — which includes a song with Cher, among other collaborations — yielded very strong reviews, and comparisons to Wu-Tang’s classic 1993 debut album, Enter the 36 Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Fans’ imaginations were further fired by Wu-Tang’s refusal to release any of the music to the general public.
But things took a turn when it turned out that the winning bidder for the album was Martin Shkreli. At about the same time Shkreli was named as the new owner of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, it was also revealed that he had obtained the manufacturing license for an anti-parasitic drug and hiked its price overnight from $13.50 to $750 per pill.
Shkreli was widely condemned as greedy, and many Wu-Tang fans judged him unworthy of owning the album. Critics of the sale to Shkreli included Method Man, one of the most beloved members of the Wu Tang Clan.
Cilvaringz, born Tarik Azzougarh, had ingratiated himself into Wu-Tang circles through a mix of hip-hop talent and devout loyalty. But when Shkreli’s ownership of the album became known, much of the fan fury focused on Cilvaringz for his part in its production and sale.
Some online targeted him with the kind of anti-Muslim attacks he had experienced as a child of Moroccan descent growing up in the Netherlands.
Joanna Natasegara on Directing Her Wu-Tang Clan Doc The Disciple
Cilvaringz explains early in the documentary that he sees it as a way to finally tell his side of the story. He has a perfect director in Natasegara, who doesn’t pull punches, but takes time to show all sides as the story takes countless twists.
Natasegara, who won an Oscar for producing the 2016 short doc “The White Helmets,” and whose credits also include producing last year’s Sundance premiere doc The Dating Game, explained in a brief audience Q&A following Friday’s Sundance screening how she and Cilvaringz first crossed paths.
“I got lucky and met Tariq on a holiday through a friend, and he told me this wild story,” she said. “I’d kind of heard of it, but I had no idea about the behind the scenes. And as we got talking, I thought the world should hear this amazing story.”
The British director said she and Cilvaringz connected through growing up in immigrant families in Europe in the ’80s and ’90s — and of course through a shared love of the Wu-Tang Clan.
One of the Wu Tang Killa Bees who appears in the film and on Once Upon a Time in Shaolin is rapper Shabazz the Disciple, who attended Friday’s premiere. Standing onstage with Natasegara for the Q&A, he said he was impressed.
“What I just saw? Perfect, nailed it,” he said.
The film recounts how Shabazz became an early friend to Cilvaringz, and advocated for him in the Wu-Tang family.
“Cilvaringz — genius. And I always heard it, and I gave him the encouragement to never give up,” Shabazz said.
Part of the drama of documentary is the meta narrative of wondering how key members of the Wu Tang Clan will react to it, and whether they will sign off on Cilvaringz’s version of events.
We don’t want to say too much, but recommend paying attention to the credits.
Similarly, a little internet digging will tell you what ultimately became of the single pressing of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin — and how you might someday be able to hear it. But we don’t want to spoil the film.
The Disciple premiered Friday at Sundance, where it will screen again during the festival.
Main image: (L-R) Cilvaringz, The RZA, Cilvaringz, and Moongod Allah in The Disciple. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
