After using his debut album Summertime ’06 to share his story growing up as a teenager in Long Beach, California, Vince Staples is now giving the youth back in his hometown hope for a better life.
The “Señorita” rapper stood alongside Councilman Rex Richardson at his home neighborhood of Ramona Park as they implemented the Youth Institute program Tuesday, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram. The YMCA initiative will allow 20 students to get an education in the arts at Hamilton Middle School within the Long Beach Unified School District.
“This is a great opportunity to give back to my home as well as create more pathways that will cultivate a sense of pride in the North Long Beach youth community,” Staples tells HipHopDX.
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The public official partnered with Long Beach Unified board member Megan Kerr for the Youth Institute as part of the North Long Beach Education Fund.
“We’re all hands on-deck to make sure we have the best opportunities for our youth this summer,” Richardson said at the event.
The city gave $10,000 and Staples also helped fund the summer program, which will give eighth and ninth graders the opportunity to take classes in filmmaking, graphic design and music production.
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“I think the most important thing is opportunities,” the Def Jam artist said. “What I can say is, living over here my entire life, I’ve never had an opportunity given to me from the area, only examples of how to mess up, and what I didn’t want to do.”
#LongBeach's @RexRichardson & @VinceStaples announced today the launch of the new tech-based Youth Institute program https://t.co/ga09ISuoWQ
— Long Beach Post (@LongBeachPost) June 15, 2016
