Teacher who saw Scribe's X-factor

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX

Terry Whitley cringes when he reads about his former primary school students in the court news, but there are some names he is happy to see make headlines.

The most notable, "this week anyway", is Scribe, now a multi-award-winning musician. Yet in Mr Whitley's mind he will always be Malo, a shy kid with a big smile and a lot of musical talent.

And just as Mr Whitley remembers his former student with pride, Malo Luafutu obviously remembers his Christchurch primary school music teacher with gratitude.

In one of the hip hop star's many trips to the stage at this week's New Zealand Music Awards - he picked up seven awards including best album, single of the year and best male solo artist - he thanked Mr Whitley for helping him believe a musical career was not just a dream.

Making the most of the school holidays by leaving town Mr Whitley did not know about his "five seconds of fame" until his wife rang him.

"I was pretty gobsmacked. I mean, I always knew Malo had the talent to go places and I've watched his career blossom in the past year. But to hear he attributes part of that to school, well, it's rare praise really."

Mr Whitley taught an 11-year-old Scribe to play the drums at Wainoni School in an area Scribe refers to as the "Otara of Christchurch". Now he owns his former pupil's album.

He said Scribe was an average student "who probably used his smile to get himself out of a few situations" but his talent for music was always clear.

"He had good rhythm and a real talent for lyrics even then. They say some people just have an X-factor and Malo's was pretty evident. He wasn't a pushy kid, he just had genuine desire to learn what he could about what he loved and that was the music.

"The best thing to see is that he is having a positive influence on the younger kids today because in that genre it could be easy not to."

Mr Whitley says he cannot take all the credit. Another teacher, Barbara Goode, also encouraged Scribe's love of music at primary school. She recently died of cancer. "They had a real bond, a shared love of music. If she knew how well Malo has done ... she'd be just so proud of him."