Black Violin blends hip-hop beats with classical sound

Wil Baptiste didn’t learn the real story behind the “mistake” that sealed his fate until a few years ago.

For years, he’d been retelling the events of his youth as he understood them: He wanted to play the saxophone, but he got put in the wrong class. By mistake, he ended up on viola and decided to stick with it, assuming he had no choice.

The mistake was fortunate, though, because it led to his career as half of Black Violin, a renowned touring duo that melds classical music with hip-hop beats. Black Violin, featuring Baptiste and violinist Kevin Marcus, will stop in Wichita on Friday for a show at the Orpheum Theatre.

The story he’d always heard, though, was not what really happened, as Baptiste would learn when he met for drinks with his middle school music teacher, who had come to see him perform.

“He said, ‘I never told you the real reason you got in my class. Me and the band teacher had a bet: If I win this round of golf, I get this kid in my class.’ Apparently, the orchestra teacher won. If the band teacher got me, I would be playing saxophone.”

Baptiste, calling last week from New York City just before entering the studio for a 10-hour recording session for a new album, said that now he can’t imagine his life taking a different path.

Though he’s had his share of violin envy over the years – violinists get more attention and more solos than those who play viola, he said – Baptiste has never regretted mastering his instrument, which is slightly larger than the violin and has a deeper sound.

“I’m able to do things with the viola that no viola player has really experimented with,” he said.

Baptiste and Marcus met when both attended the Dillard High School of Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Their school’s orchestra was predominately black, and their teachers preached a consistent message: Use your musical talent to get a scholarship for college.

Both Baptiste and Marcus listened to that advice. After graduating, Baptiste headed to Florida State University. Marcus went to Florida International University.

When college was over, the two met back up to compare their experiences, including the jolting feeling of going from a high school orchestra that was predominately black to college orchestras where they were among the only black musicians.

They started experimenting with the type of music they’d play when they were goofing off during high school – hip-hop sounds they created using their classical abilities and instruments.

“The hip-hop thing is something we’ve always done,” Baptiste said. “It wasn’t anything we strategically thought about. We naturally picked it up and did it.”

Their performances are as interesting to see as they are to hear. The sound of the strings is layered over hip-hop beats. The duo dresses like a hip-hop act, with sideways ball caps and print T-shirts. They move like hip-hop artists – heads bobbing, feet moving. But they clutch delicate instruments that look tiny in their hands.

Once they formed, Black Violin started earning attention quickly. In 2004, they backed up Alicia Keys at the Billboard Awards. And in 2005, they were invited to perform at the legendary Apollo Theatre, offering up their string renditions of songs by artists like Usher and Michael Jackson. The two took home the 2005 Apollo Legend title, an award previously won by stars like James Brown and Ella Fitzgerald.

Their resume just kept lengthening. In 2013, they performed at President Obama’s inauguration. They also have opened for, performed with or collaborated on projects with acts including Linkin Park, Fat Joe, Akon, P. Diddy, Kanye West, 50 Cent, Aerosmith, Aretha Frankin and the Eagles.

Black Violin plays an average of 200 shows a year all over the world. Classical fans love their music, Baptiste said. So do hip-hop fans.

Kids really love it.

“It’s different,” he said. “It’s something that they’ve never seen before, something they didn’t think they would experience. We’re doing something that’s cool. The violin has this perception of not being cool, but we make it cool. And the adults love it because our music is clean. It’s nothing crazy. It’s just dope. It’s really dope. It’s refreshing.”

This story was originally published April 9, 2015 at 10:34 AM with the headline "Black Violin blends hip-hop beats with classical sound."