Rapper recorded album by posting up at NYC Apple Store every day for 4 months
A New York-based rapper has taken the phrase "demo unit" quite literally, saying that he parked himself at Apple's SoHo store in Manhattan five days a week, for sixteen weeks, so he could use the store's display computers to record a full-length album.
Prince Harvey, via The Daily Beast
Going by the name Prince Harvey, the little-known Dominican artist told The Daily Beast that he was forced to hatch his Apple Store plan after one computer broke down and another was stolen.
"I had a date, and I wanted to go to Chinatown to buy squid and I was rushing, and left the hard drive with everything plugged in, and when I came back, it was gone," Harvey said. "That's when I realized I need to step everything up to, like, maximum intensity--as far as motivation and desire [to complete the album] goes."
Harvey added that a pair of SoHo store employees were sympathetic to his plight and helped him get the time he needed. To preserve his editing sessions, he would e-mail files to himself, save them to a thumb drive, or hide them in the OS X trash --?which is apparently not emptied when the store's display computers are reset.
With no musical training, Harvey paints himself as a pure artists who just wants to make a living doing what he loves and performing for anyone who will listen.
"But I do want money. I want to tour. I want to perform for different people," he added. "Shit, I'll go to Antarctica for the penguins if they're feeling it."
The Apple Store in SoHo is something of an artists' hub, as it is home to the popular series Meet the Filmmaker and Meet the Musician. In years past, Apple has also hosted full-fledged concerts there in the past, including Maroon 5 and Linkin Park back in 2008.
Prince Harvey, via The Daily Beast
Going by the name Prince Harvey, the little-known Dominican artist told The Daily Beast that he was forced to hatch his Apple Store plan after one computer broke down and another was stolen.
"I had a date, and I wanted to go to Chinatown to buy squid and I was rushing, and left the hard drive with everything plugged in, and when I came back, it was gone," Harvey said. "That's when I realized I need to step everything up to, like, maximum intensity--as far as motivation and desire [to complete the album] goes."
Harvey added that a pair of SoHo store employees were sympathetic to his plight and helped him get the time he needed. To preserve his editing sessions, he would e-mail files to himself, save them to a thumb drive, or hide them in the OS X trash --?which is apparently not emptied when the store's display computers are reset.
With no musical training, Harvey paints himself as a pure artists who just wants to make a living doing what he loves and performing for anyone who will listen.
"But I do want money. I want to tour. I want to perform for different people," he added. "Shit, I'll go to Antarctica for the penguins if they're feeling it."
The Apple Store in SoHo is something of an artists' hub, as it is home to the popular series Meet the Filmmaker and Meet the Musician. In years past, Apple has also hosted full-fledged concerts there in the past, including Maroon 5 and Linkin Park back in 2008.
Comments
Why do I have the feeling a story similarly titled to, "NBA player blames nagging arm injury on larger-screened iPhone 6 Plus", will be coming to AI later today? I am surprised the story has not been picked up and blasted around the world accusing Apple of high treason for causing the basketball player harm by releasing a 5.5" iPhone. CNBC? CNBC? Can you help me out here? CNBC?
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Link doesn't work.
Talk about being cheap. This rapper sounds like a PC user.
The dude lives with 20 roommates and has to sneak around in Apple stores? 20 roommates? WTF?
While in the process of an eviction from a Bushwick, Brooklyn loft that he shared with 20 roommates and was eventually demolished to make way for luxury apartments, Prince made the Apple Store a second home, befriending a pair of employees who would bend corporate rules to help him record the album.
Those two Apple employees should be fired.
Apple can't have any rude people jumping up on tables in their stores! This rapper should be banned from all Apple stores. It's never been cheaper to make and create professional sounding music than it is today in 2015.
Wow! dasanman69 my post and your reply to it have been removed!! This has not happened to me in a little while.
Glad to see that there were a couple of store employees who could help get him the needed time. Hopefully it did not come even remotely at the expense of someone else waiting, or not being able to demo a unit. If every Tom, Dick, and Harry started to use an Apple store for sound recording, homework, managing music, watching TV, doing emails, web-surfing, etc., we could have a serious problem.
Are you kidding? Manhattan Apple stores are always jam packed, and this person basically hijacked one of the machines every single day for many months straight.
And if it's ok for this rapper to do it, then why shouldn't everybody do it? Does anybody have any video project that they filmed that they wish to edit? No problem, just head on down to your local Apple store and hijack one of the Mac Pros, and use it every single day for many months straight!
That's what we have public libraries for.
The the purpose of the Apple Store is not to make life easier for homeless people.
You know something. This could be a brilliant idea from Apple. Create Apple Libraries where people can come in and do work on Apple computers for little or no cost. Could help low income people without computers. Could also institute classes for learning the computer and programs.
That's an absolutely horrible and truly revolting idea. Apple is a for profit business, making the best devices possible for discerning customers. Apple is not a charity, nor should they cater to those without money.
but it is kind of hard to imagine that being at the apple store was needed, rather than motivational....when one can pick up a decent used PC for free and a decent used macbook for $100.
That's not true. The SoHo store is the one I always go to and it's more busy than 'jam packed'. I could see him easily having enough time to do what he needed to do without other customers being denied a chance to try out the devices.
That's not true. The SoHo store is the one I always go to and it's more busy than 'jam packed'. I could see him easily having enough time to do what he needed to do without other customers being denied a chance to try out the devices.
I usually visit the midtown stores more often, so you might be right. But, even if an Apple store was 100% empty, then it's still not right in my opinion.
I just listened to the linked Soundcloud cut.
I call BS on the backstory... for starters, did he just walk over to the third-party shelves and break open a Blue? And how could he have recorded his vocals in such an acoustically live environment?
This smells like a PR stunt to me.
But penguins do not have any money...
don't deny a penguin the right to "feel it"
That's not true. The SoHo store is the one I always go to and it's more busy than 'jam packed'. I could see him easily having enough time to do what he needed to do without other customers being denied a chance to try out the devices.
I agree, the Soho store is one of the least jam packed Apple stores in Manhattan. Soho is jam packed with young women clothes shopping. Also, the store itself is on a busy (but small) intersection. My main store is grand Central and that is truly jam packed with shoppers and commuters smack in the middle of the city. I doubt he'd get away with that there.
That's what we have public libraries for.
The the purpose of the Apple Store is not to make life easier for homeless people.
Apple would get a lot of good press and do much good if they donated older Mac models (maybe display units from their stores) to public libraries. It's not often that I see Macs in public libraries. I'm not missing your point, just sayin'.....
You forgot to add that the young women are often stunningly beautiful.