From what I understand, it was an entirely new album, with all the usual suspects (minus ODB, of course), and a few surprise guests (Cher, apparently!). There was at least one place where some of the tracks were played… actually it was clips from each song. They spent about a year or so working on the album, artwork, and then a while longer on the planning of the sale. Unless RZA and Cilvarings were straight up lying about everything, then it was on the up and up.
I’d still recommend the book, even if you’re not a fan. It’s just an interesting story and an interesting argument about the nature of art in the modern world.
