Black Violin

Kevin Sylvester and Wilner Baptiste, better known by their stage names Kev Marcus and Wil B., are the two string instrumentalists that make up the American hip hop duo Black Violin. They are from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and their music is influenced by classical music. Both Wil B. and Kev Marcus play an instrument of the stringed instrument family. Over the course of more than a decade, the classical-meets-hip-hop duo has been steadily building a devoted following, which culminated in two sold-out shows at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the National Symphony Orchestra commemorating the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s passing. [source: missing citation] They created a show in which they covered hip-hop tunes with their violins, and it quickly gained popularity in the local bars. They had to wait two years after submitting a tape to Showtime at the Apollo before they were asked to perform on the show, where they not only won but also continued to win. They were asked to play with Alicia Keys on the Billboard Awards by the singer's management, who found out about them through a random internet search. After that, further opportunities presented themselves; for example, they went on tour with Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, opened for Wu-Tang Clan, and wrote the soundtrack for the Fox series Pitch. Wil and Kev have collaborated with Alessia Cara, 2 Chainz, and Lil Wayne, both on their own and in tandem with one another. Throughout this time, Black Violin kept up their relentless touring schedule, often playing as many as 200 performances year, and also proceeded to create two indie albums that they self-financed until releasing the critically acclaimed Stereotypes in 2015. [1] In their live shows, the pair is presently joined by DJ SPS and percussionist Nat Stokes. [2]