This Wu-Tang business is getting a little sketchy, no?

Wu-Tang, sans Raekwon, who refuses to take part in the rap group’s comeback album, will be releasing their return LP, Once Upon a Time In Shaolin, in an extremely unique fashion: crafting one copy that will be shopped around the world in museums and institutions as if it were an ornate piece of art. Incidentally, it will be an ornate piece of art, as it will be housed in a meticulously designed box created specifically for the purpose of encasing the once-thought-to-be mythical Wu-Tang CD.

Raekwon however, for lack of a better term, isn’t down. The seasoned veteran and one of the most consistent members of the Wu won’t be tagging along for the ride for this album, or the group’s other new album–which will be released in much more conventional fashion–A Better Tomorrow. He had this to say about his brothers’ new endeavors.

I hate it. I hate it. I don’t hate shit, but I hate that fuckin’ record. It ain’t the gunpowder that my brothers are spitting; it’s the production. And I ain’t shitting on the producer because he’s one of our soldiers. But if it ain’t where it need to be… It’s 20 years later. We talkin ’bout a whole new generation is sitting here representin’ and making fiery shit and you telling me that we comin out with some mediocre shit? That ain’t part of our plan.

Today, RZA made an appearance on the Hot 97 Morning Show, where he addressed the touchy situation involving Raekwon and the Wu:

What we’re not doing as brothers and as business brothers is putting in time together,I have to read about how he feels. He has to read about how I feel. I’m gonna clear one thing up. In the newest article in Rolling Stone Raekwon says that I’m a boldface liar, which I’m far from, “I don’t need to lie. I’m a grown man. I’ve got children. I only have one rule in my house, ‘Don’t lie to me’.

There’s no official release date on A Better Tomorrow, but its available for pre-order and by all indications it will be released sometime this year.