February 12, 2016
Pharmabro Shkreli Offers Kanye $10M for New Album, Fails at Being a Villain
READ TIME: 2 MIN.
In an attempt to remain relevant (especially in the rap world), pharmabro Martin Shkreli took to Twitter shortly after Kanye West debuted his new album "The Life of Pablo" and offered the rapper $10 million for the yet-unreleased LP. He then tried to keep up his persona of being an evil villain, claiming West and his team "are legally required" to review his offer, which he said "should delay the album by a few days."
Shkreli's offer requires that West release his new record to him and only him.
The offer comes as Shkreli, who made international headlines last year when he drastically raised the price of a decades-old medication some AIDS and cancer patients use, awaits a possible federal trial on fraud charges, USA Today reports. The 32-year-old former CEO paid a $5 million bail after being arrested for fraud in December (he's pleading not guilty).
USA Today goes on to report it is estimated that most of Shkreli's $45 million worth may be tied up in stock from one of his old companies, which is now under bankruptcy protection. In addition to that, the IRS claims he owes them $4.6 million and New York state is asking Shkreli for $2.7 million.
So, who knows if Shkreli, who recently referred to himself as a "heel" (a term in pro-wrestling that refers to bad guys), even has the dough for West, who will most likely not even pay any mind to him. (West currently has bigger fish to fry.)
Nevertheless, it's unclear when a commercial copy of "Pablo" will be available to the public. West played the record at Madison Square Garden Thursday night during his Yeezy 3 fashion show, but there has yet to be an announcement as to when it will be digitally or physically released -- though it probably has nothing to do with Shkreli's offer.
Shkreli's offer to West is five times the amount he paid for Wu-Tang-Clan's one-of-a-kind record "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin." He's still not released that LP and recently called out WTC member Ghostface Killah in a lame video.
