Picture two young African-American men and focus on their band name, Black Violin. So much is said in just two words. Surely, their last album, entitled Stereotypes, puts it right on the line. Let’s face it, most would not expect this duo to be playing violin and viola, yet they are breaking down the barriers between classical music, hip-hop, and even rock. This is the follow-up, Take the Stairs, one from which three singles have already been heard – “Showoff,” “One Step,” and “Impossible Is Possible.” “One Step” could easily be played on rock or alternative rock radio. The classically trained Kev Marcus and Will Baptiste are forging their way. They continue, 16 years on, to make classical music relevant to this generation in a way that none have done.
Kev Marcus and Wil Baptiste have been merging string arrangements with modern beats and vocals since the met in orchestra class at Dillard High School in Ft. Lauderdale, classically trained on violin and viola through their high school and college careers. After college they produced beats for South Florida rappers, and began building a local following. After winning Showtime at the Apollo in 2005, they had their breakthrough, a launching pad for sold-out performances across the country including a two-night headline run at The Kennedy Center in 2018. The duo now plays over 200 shows a year, many for low-income students in urban communities. Last year they played to over 100,000 students, challenging the notion of what ‘classical musicians’ look and sound like.
Their fusion of classical, hip-hop, blues, and R&B was not a methodically thought-out mission at first. Baptiste says it was very, very organic. As they began working with artists, rappers and singers from P.Diddy and 50Cent to Aretha Franklin, Tom Petty and Aerosmith; they began to realize they were more than backup musicians – they could create their own music. Now 85 percent of what they typically perform are originals, and most of the concerts still include 10-15 minutes of freestyling. They continue to turn heads but their focus on youth is essentially a major message _ “You can do the same thing, you can do anything, just do it in a way that is you,” Baptiste says. “Push the art form or push the thing and push it to the next level. Be who you are.”
The duo approach songwriting in a rather unique way. It begins with a simple beat and within 10-15 minutes they establish some chords. They don’t write any of it down, however, choosing instead to internalize it. “I go in the booth, close my eyes and do what I do, “ Baptiste said. “A lot of it is improvising, and I try to make it consistent. A lot of times that first take is either it or I gotta fix it a little bit but can never re-create it. I go in and think about how I’m going to approach the song. Sor sometimes hear the beat write it in my head as to How I’m going to approach it.”
For Take the Stairs pieces were worked on form an hour to a couple of days with their producer keeping them on track. The album is a mix of six vocal songs among the baker’s dozen. It’s tempting to say that the instrumental pieces serve as preludes or interludes as in classical music, but usually, they just stand on their own. The theme of the album is hope, and according to the duo, it represents many things they have not done before. It is practically a full-on duo effort with guests on a couple of tracks only adding a violin, cello, or drums. It’s quite remarkable that the electronic drum loops, additional electronic effects, and their two-stringed instruments can sound so big – a veritable two-man orchestra.
Their positivity comes through potently. Here is the chorus from “One Step” – “Been down but I been strong/This time it’s a new song/Thought I lost but I still won/One step to the future, step to the future.” And the opening verse from “a Way Home” – “Lift your hand now/and find your way through the storm/though it’s dark and the road is long/ Call out you’re not alone/Find a way home.” Even the title suggests keep climbing and keep growing. That’s what Black Violin is doing, making moving music in their singular creative way that clearly stands apart.
