Written by Tanya Terry
Ahead of their upcoming show in Flint, The Courier talked recently to one-half of the music sensation Black Violin, which merges string instruments with modern beats and vocals to bridge communities.
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 in collaboration with The Blind Boys of Alabama.
They will present their talents at 8 p.m. May 10 at the Capitol Theatre.
Wil Baptiste is violist and vocalist of the group Black Violin, and Kev Marcus plays the violin. Baptiste told the Courier it all started for the duo back in high school.
“Kev and I, we were the string students in high school, playing classical music, but we’ve always dabbled into different things-because I think we were so immersed in hip hop,” explained Baptiste. “…We’ve always kind of messed around with certain songs that you hear on the radio, just, y’know, having fun with it…We just did it instinctively, organically, because it was just fun…We worked with a lot of producers in South Florida – a producer, his name is Infamous. We did a lot of stuff for Lil Wayne. We worked with strings on top of stuff for Lil Wayne. We did a few things back the day with Rick Ross.”
Fast forward, Baptiste and Marcus got back together as Marcus was graduating from Florida International University (FIU) as a performance major and Baptiste was pursuing other musical endeavors after a semester at Florida State University, and then attending FIU for a while. They started producing and working with artists.
“Then we thought about us as artists because when we would perform we would notice how people were very drawn to us,” said Baptiste. “This is something that was always easy for us.”
In 2004, Baptiste and Marcus sent a tape to audition for Showtime at the Apollo. They were invited to appear and compete on the show, where they never lost.
“That was kind of like the birth of Black Violin. That’s when we realized we had something special -because if Harlem says that you’re dope, than it probably is so.”
Baptiste believes with the newest album and tour the group has, both named “Full Circle,” audiences will get to hear the artist tell the story of what 20-plus years look like: the evolution and growth of Black Violin.
Black Violin now has six albums so far, available on iTunes and Spotify, and they have announced a May 2 release date for the seventh one. Baptiste said the group has been highly involved in the creative process with all their albums.
They’ve also done “thousands of” tours, traveling to 49 states, excluding only Hawaii.
“We collaborated with the Blind Boys. We did a tour with them and some shows with them. They are just legends. Being able to collaborate with them was great, and having that song be nominated (for a Grammy® Award) was great, too.”
Black Violin was nominated for Best Americana Performance for the track “The Message” in collaboration with The Blind Boys of Alabama!
Baptiste said it’s “always good to come to Flint.”
“The crowd can expect a high-energy performance, and there’s peaks and valleys in our performances. It’s a show that is very inviting to anyone and everyone. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from…We encourage the crowd to express how they feel, and if the music moves you to express it.”
For information about the Black Violin Foundation, designed to encourage kids who are excited about the arts, visit BlackViolinFoundation.org.
For tickets to the May 10 show in Flint, visit tickets.thefim.org/blackviolin
