The duo Black Violin writes all of their own music.
They formed their group after studying music at Fort Lauderdale’s Dillard High School for the Performing Arts (now Dillard Center for the Arts) more than 20 years ago.
Wikipedia defines the group as a “classically trained, hip hop duo.”
Violist and singer Wil Baptiste said it’s more than that.
“I think the idea of what we do is very classical and is very hip hop," Baptiste said. "You know, if you listen to our music, we don't use electric violins when you hear the music. We specifically want to use acoustic violins so you can hear the overtones and just like hear the instrument for what it is, and you hear the beautiful strings, and you hear a hard-hitting hip hop beat.”
But some of their songs also sound like gospel and blues.
Baptiste says their “Be Free” tour, which comes to Tampa’s Straz Center on Tuesday, Oct. 13, is different from what you may have heard from them before.
“We're playing music and tone and songs that we want to play, and we invite the audience to be free with us, you know. Express yourself however you feel,” he said.
Baptiste said that it’s a show for all of the family members from mothers and fathers to children and grandparents.
Kev Marcus plays the violin and is the other half of Black Violin.
For this tour, they’re backed up by DJ SPS and Drummer Nat Stokes.
Music education is important to them. The foundation named for their duo offers a scholarship to help kids get instruments, music lessons and more to follow their musical dreams.
Baptiste said their high school music teacher, James Miles, whom they called Mr. Miles, was their inspiration.
“He was just a teacher that just really cared, you know, that pushed us, told us that we can do great things. We can get full scholarship to college, which is what happened. And yeah, he really just saw something in us,” Baptiste said.
Baptiste said they named a grant from their “Black Violin Foundation” after Miles.
“Whether it be an instrument, whether it be funds to get to a music camp or whatever it may be, and that really helped us in our musical journey," Baptiste said. "We wanted to provide that for kids as well, you know, and that's primarily what our foundation is here to do: is to kind of fill that gap and provide kids the opportunity so that dream that they have don't just get taken away because of something they have no control over.”
You can get more information about the foundation at its website.
And you can find details about their Tuesday concert on the Straz Center website.
