[Earl Sweatshirt may not be known in Samoa but google him and you’ll find that his whereabouts for the past 18 months has been under constant discussion in the foreign media.
The star American rapper is a member of the Los Angeles's Odd Future, a gang of a dozen teens – rappers, producers, singers and skaters – who have spent the past year becoming the hottest thing in music. He has been at the Coral Reef Academy at Vaitele for 18 months, and he graduates tomorrow.
Earl, whose real name is Thebe Kgositsile, told the Samoa Observer that “I’ve had to do the majority of growing up here”.
He says it was in Samoa that he learnt humility and the value of family.
“I was a thoroughly disrespectful person before I left, but that was not an option here.”
Earl returns to the USA on Sunday more focused on what he wants to do in life. His first option is to finish high school.
He says he had a lot of support while attending the Academy, including that from his mother and friend, Leila Steinberg.
While in Samoa, he’s learnt how to make the traditional umu; flown to Tonga and swum with the whales and enjoyed the waterfalls and beaches Samoa has to offer.
While in America
, Miss Steinberg says she received an email from Earl. It spoke about how in America, people are taught to think for themselves. Here in Samoa, its more community-oriented. For instance, on a bus, when there’s no room, someone will sit on the other’s lap. In America, one gets pushed away if they get too close.
For his last week in Samoa, he invited Miss Steinberg, who is an artist and community organizer with an organization called Alternative Intervention Models (AIM). She is also the famous rapper Tupac’s first manager.
Miss Steinberg jumped at the invitation and brought a group of 11 up-and-coming artists with her.
Included is Samoan Sulu Gofoaiga, who lives in Long Beach, Los Angeles and is here for his first time. Mr Gofoaiga is the son of Tuala Mafo’e and Masiga.
Miss Steinberg is committed to helping people who fall through the cracks of society. In 1995 she began a series of specialized programmes for youth within the juvenile justice system and those residing in residential treatment facilities.
As hip-hop music became the expression of today's youth, Steinberg began training artists to develop voices powerful enough to reach a generation. While conducting poetry workshops in Northern California, she met Tupac Shakur and he became a regular participant in her class.
They shared a vision of developing a space where each artist in attendance is encouraged, inspired and motivated to address social change in their work. Tupac referred to Leila as the "bow" and himself as the "arrow."
Miss Steinberg says that it’s all about changing hearts, improving self worth and self esteem. “Only people who have value, value life.”
The group is multicultural, bringing together individuals from Korea, Iran, Puerto Rico, Columbia, Turkey, Trinidad, India and others.