Cilvaringz

Tarik Azzougarh (Arabic: طارق أزوگاغ; born January 29, 1979), better known as his stage name Cilvaringz, is a Dutch-Moroccan record producer, rapper, and artist manager from Tilburg, North Brabant. He is associated with the Wu-Tang Clan and is best known for conceptualizing and producing the world's most expensive work of music, Wu-Tang Clan's Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.Cilvaringz was discovered by Ol' Dirty Bastard and Method Man at a Wu-Tang Clan concert in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on May 26, 1997. After impressing ODB with a live freestyle on stage he was introduced to RZA who signed him to Wu-Tang Records in 1999, becoming the first non-American affiliate of the Wu-Tang Clan.Between 2002 and 2010 Cilvaringz toured the world as the official opening act of RZA, Method Man & Redman, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah. On April 9, 2007, he released his first solo album through five different record labels around the world, receiving critical acclaim for its return to the original Wu-Tang sound.In April 2008 Cilvaringz conceptualized and began producing Wu-Tang Clan's secret album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin under the patronage of RZA. The unique release of the secret album as only one available copy in the world became one of the biggest and widely covered music stories of 2014. Forbes magazine broke the story exclusively on March 26, 2014. On May 3, 2015, the album sold for a reported US$2 million to pharmaceutical entrepreneur Martin Shkreli, making it the most expensive musical work ever sold. In July 2021, the album broke its own record as the most expensive work of music ever sold and most expensive music related NFT when the US Department of Justice sold it to non-fungible token collectors PleasrDAO for $4 million to cover Shkreli's debts; PleasrDAO said they hoped to make it more widely accessible.