Black Violin, a duo known for their high-energy mashups of Classical and Hip Hop, is back with their Impossible Tour, which stops at Cincinnati’s Music Hall on April 16.
“You can say it’s a play on words, like ‘I’m Possible,’ but the whole point is that anything is possible,” says violist Wilner Baptiste, speaking by phone. “The idea of Hip Hop and Classical coming together creating this amazing marriage was something that maybe seemed impossible; being where we’re from and being able to do what we’re doing may have seemed impossible.”
But — as proven by Black Violin’s success — it wasn’t. Taking their name from Jazz violinist Stuff Smith’s final recorded album (he died in 1967), Black Violin has performed with symphony orchestras and with luminaries of Hip Hop and Rock including Alicia Keys, Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda, Aerosmith, 50 Cent and Wu-Tang Clan.
Both Baptiste and the duo’s other half, Kevin Marcus Sylvester, known as Kev Marcus, performed Classical works throughout high school and college but were grounded in R&B and Hip Hop.
Baptiste says their big break came from playing the legendary Apollo Theater in 2003 whose audiences were (and still are) notorious for booing performers, including comedian Dave Chappelle.
“We knew about that booing and here we were coming in with this fusion of Classical, Hip Hop, Blues and Bluegrass. We were really nervous,” says Baptiste. But they got a rousing ovation and the next day, Alicia Keys’ manager contacted them for an audition.
Baptiste describes the upcoming show as “a Rock concert from a violinist’s perspective” that will also feature him on vocals. Aside from fusing elements of different genres, creating community through their work is just as important.
“A lot of times, the people who come to our show don’t always get to be in the same room together and that’s the unique thing from our perspective,” Baptiste says.
The duo is deeply committed to paying it forward and hopes to inspire young people to seek out the kinds of opportunities that they had. In addition to their concert at Music Hall, they will hold two special performances for local students.
Both men grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and both had the same music teacher at Dillard High School, whose encouragement helped Baptiste and Sylvester earn full music scholarships to Florida State and Florida International University, respectively.
Baptiste started playing viola when he was 14, but it was a mistake, he says with a laugh. “I wanted to play saxophone but somehow I wound up in a string class,” he says.
Sylvester — who was 9 when his mother took him to a neighborhood strings program to keep him out of trouble — was just as reluctant to take up violin as Baptiste was to take up the viola.
At the time, few, if any, African-American kids were playing string instruments. So they know firsthand how vital it is for people of color to be represented in every field.
“We see and hear it all the time,” Baptiste says. “Kids will literally start playing the violin because they’ve seen our show. It’s cool, it’s really cool ’cause that wasn’t the case when we were growing up. We need kids who dream big.”
When asked about performing with orchestras, Baptiste acknowledges that many organizations are slow to include them on their schedule. Despite that, watching a brilliant Mozart mashup featuring Black Violin, a Cardi B scratch track and the National Symphony Orchestra on YouTube elicits excitement that intensifies, ending with the audience’s roar of approval.
“That crowd wouldn’t necessarily be in that building listening to an orchestra,” Baptiste says. “Now they might be more inclined to see what’s coming up. That’s the point.”
After more than two decades of challenging attitudes of what an African-American musician plays, Baptiste isn’t discouraged by the persistence of stereotypes. He and Sylvester are fiercely dedicated to pushing the boundaries of music and bringing people together in the process.
“It’s art at the end of the day. It’s music. It’s expression,” Baptiste says. “It brings forth new ideas and, not only that, it creates a community of individuals rubbing shoulders with individuals they wouldn’t be.”
Black Violin brings their Impossible Tour to Music Hall on Tuesday, April 16. Tickets and more info: cincinnatiarts.org.
This article appears in Mar 27 – Apr 3, 2019.
