After his first laptop died and a second laptop got stolen form his Bushwick apartment, 25-year-old rapper Prince Harvey was convinced no one would ever hear his debut album. And then he befriended two employees at an Apple Store in SoHo in Manhattan. They were willing to look the other way when Harvey came into the store every weekday for four straight months while he used a display computer to record vocals and backing instrumentals for what would eventually become his debut album, PHATASS, which, of course, stands for Prince Harvey At The Apple Store: SoHo

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. “One time there was a fire drill and I was trying to save my work, and this lady came over and disconnected the thumb drive while it was saving,” Harvey told the Daily Beast. But Harvey, no stranger to perseverance in the face of crippling unluckiness, finished the record, which will debut July 26. Though I can’t say I am the biggest fan of the two tracks that have surfaced online, I have to respect this guy’s hustle. Not to mention his overwhelmingly optimistic worldview. When answering The Daily Beast’s questions about poverty, Harvey declared,”Poor is a mentality. I mean, I can be broke–no money in my pocket–but I’ve never been poor. I’ve been rich my whole life.”

Best of luck to you, Prince, and holler at me if you find yourself at an Apple Store in San Diego this weekend during Comic-Con.

HT: FADER; The Daily Beast

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