Music

This rapper recorded an album on an Apple Store display laptop

by Jeremy Mersereau

Why spend a few thousand bucks on a brand new Macbook Pro when there’s a bunch of brand new, perfectly serviceable models just sitting there on some comically oversized wooden tables? All that stands between any of us and recording a fire mixtape is some talent, perseverance, and most importantly of all, an ability to have no obligations between the time the mall opens and closes. Fortunately, Soho rapper Prince Harvey had all those qualities in abundance when he recorded his album, PHATASS, on a display model Macbook.

After a computer failure, a hard drive crash, and another hard drive was stolen, Prince Harvey knew he would have to either give up the project or get creative with the recording process. By befriending two employees at the Soho Apple Store and discovering that files placed in the trash would not be deleted when the store wiped the display models’ memory every night, he was able to complete the album over four months by surreptitiously recording vocals. Every day for 16 weeks, Harvey would journey across the East River to the Apple Store, where he would record bits and pieces of his own voice to turn into instrumental backing tracks, all while keeping a lookout for security and unfriendly employees.

“I’m just a creator,” Harvey told The Daily Beast. “I want to inspire other people to create — show them that you don’t need all these things to be successful.” However, you do need to live somewhere with easy access to an Apple Store, so, good luck with that, Laotians.

PHATASS, (A clever acronym for Prince Harvey At the Apple Store: Soho, if you haven’t guessed yet) is scheduled for release July 26.