We have heard of some pretty innovative ways for artists to record their music, usually coming from those who have resources to finance large and interesting projects. However, sometimes, it is those who have the least, yet still hold on to those big dreams, which come up with the best ideas because they have no choice. New York City rapper and artist Prince Harvey, according to a new profile in the Daily Beast, recorded an entire new album titled PHATASS (Prince Harvey At The Apple Store: SoHo) in secret at an Apple store in Manhattan because his computer and backup failed him. He did not have the funds to replace them, so Harvey used the ones at the SoHo Apple Store.
"It wasn't my plan to record this at the Apple Store. First, my computer died. Then my external [hard drive] died," he explains. "New York is expensive. I couldn't just buy another laptop. I just thought, 'I'm going to die before anyone knows I'm hot.'"
The album is made up entirely of human voices — singing, humming and rapping, and only has one feature, a guest who came in the store. The rapper would make the trip every day from Brooklyn to Manhatten, Monday to Friday for four months and record in the store. He found work arounds to save his files on the computers at the store, including leaving files in the trash bins to avoid nightly wipes.
This project represents the drive that Harvey has as an artist where many others would have folded.
"I wasn't interested in popular music. Nothing was about me or people like me. So I want to reinvent the future and music," he says. "I'm just a creator. I want to inspire other people to create-show them that you don't need all these things to be successful."
Below is the first single from the album. PHATASS will be released on July 26.
