Black Violin

Artist Bio

For nearly two decades, Black Violin has been merging string arrangements with modern
beats and vocals and building bridges in communities along the way. Members Kev
Marcus and Wil Baptiste first met in orchestra class at Dillard High School in Fort
Lauderdale, becoming classically trained on the violin and viola through their high school
and college careers. Post-college, they reconvened to produce beats for South Florida
rappers, and began building an audience in local clubs. They later went on to
win Showtime at the Apollo in 2005, and eventually sold out headline performances at
venues across the country, including a sold out two-night headline run at The Kennedy
Center in 2018. NPR took note and declared “their music will keep classical music alive
for the next generation.” Black Violin’s 2019 album release, Take the Stairs, earned a
Grammy Award nomination for “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album”. The band
also recently received their second ever Grammy Award nomination for the track “The
Message” as Best Americana Performance, in collaboration with The Blind Boys of
Alabama.
Black Violin has plays roughly 200 shows a year; many of which are performances for
young, low-income students in urban communities. In the last year alone, the group has
played for over 100,000 students with the goal of challenging stereotypes and
preconceived notions of what a “classical musician” looks and sounds like. “The
stereotypes are always there, embedded so deep in our culture,” says Wil. “Just by nature
of our existence we challenge those ideas. It’s a unique thing that brings people together
who aren’t usually in the same room, and in the current climate, it’s good to bring people
together.”
In 2019, the group launched the Black Violin Foundation Inc., a non-profit organization
dedicated to empowering youth by providing access to quality music programs in their
community. BVF believes that music and access to music programs should not be
determined by race, gender, or socio-economic status. Black Violin Foundation’s
inaugural program the Musical Innovation Grant for Continuing Education will provide
scholarships to young music students to attend a program of their liking that fosters
musical creativity and innovation.
For more info on Black Violin: http://www.blackviolin.net
For more info on the Black Violin Foundation: http://www.blackviolinfoundation.org
Discography: http://blackviolin.net/albums/

GENRE

• Hip-Hop