Martin Shkreli Sues RZA Over Alleged "Duplicate Sale" of Rare Wu-Tang Album
The Saga Continues: Martin Shkreli Sues RZA Over Alleged "Duplicate Sale" of Rare Wu-Tang Album
BROOKLYN, NY — In a legal plot twist worthy of a Hollywood thriller, convicted former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli has filed a blockbuster countersuit against Wu-Tang Clan leader RZA, alleging a "duplicate sale" of the copyrights to the world's rarest album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.
The filing, submitted late Monday night in a Brooklyn federal court, adds the legendary rapper (born Robert Diggs) and producer Cilvaringz (Tarik Azzougarh) to an ongoing legal war between Shkreli and the digital art collective PleasrDAO.
The "150% Copyright" Claim
At the heart of Shkreli’s 35-page complaint is a bold mathematical accusation: he claims the Wu-Tang founders essentially sold the same rights twice, effectively "selling a total of 150% of the copyrights."
Shkreli, 42, argues that his original 2015 purchase of the single-copy album for $2 million included a "bifurcated" deal. He asserts that while the physical nickel-silver box and discs were tangible goods, the contract also granted him an immediate 50% stake in the copyrights, with the remaining 50% scheduled to transfer to him in the year 2103—when he would be 120 years old.
The "Pharma Bro" alleges that RZA and Cilvaringz breached this contract by later selling those same rights to PleasrDAO for an additional $750,000 in 2024, long after the physical album had been seized by the U.S. government to satisfy Shkreli’s $7.4 million forfeiture order.
PleasrDAO Fires Back
The cryptocurrency collective PleasrDAO, which famously purchased the album from the Department of Justice for $4.75 million in 2021, has dismissed Shkreli’s new claims as a desperate litigation tactic.
PleasrDAO initially sued Shkreli in June 2024, accusing him of illegally retaining digital copies of the music and "playing it for thousands of people" during provocative livestreams on X (formerly Twitter). In a statement following Monday’s filing, PleasrDAO’s attorney Steven Cooper did not mince words:
“Mr. Shkreli’s approach throughout this case has been to distract and delay with actions that the Court has consistently and strongly rejected,” Cooper said. “These counterclaims will meet the same fate. They are untimely, non-cognizable, and oddly claim that Mr. Shkreli retained rights to the album when he was under a court order to forfeit all of his rights.”
A Decade of Drama
The battle over Once Upon a Time in Shaolin has become one of the most litigious sagas in music history. Since its creation, the album has transitioned from a secret recording in Marrakech to a symbol of "villainy" in the hands of Shkreli, and now to a "decentralized" artifact owned by a crypto-collective.
Last September, U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen ruled that Shkreli must face PleasrDAO’s misappropriation claims, noting that the album’s value is intrinsically tied to its "exclusivity and secrecy"—an exclusivity PleasrDAO claims Shkreli destroyed by bragging, "I have the mp3s you moron," to his followers.
The Road Ahead
Shkreli is now seeking a formal declaratory judgment confirming his copyright ownership, as well as unspecified damages. Representatives for RZA and Cilvaringz have not yet issued a formal response to being named in the countersuit.
As the case heads back to the courtroom, the album remains under a temporary restraining order, preventing any further dissemination of the music. For the fans who have waited over a decade to hear the full 31-track masterpiece, the "2103" release date remains the only official light at the end of a very long, very litigious tunnel.
