A Mission and a Message

Black Violin on their passion for making classical music accessible

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Mixing string instruments with hip-hop beats, Black Violin, a Grammy-nominated duo from Florida, has carved out a musical niche of their own. Featuring musicians Wilner Baptiste and Kevin Sylvester, aka Wil B and Kev Marcus, the group earned a Best Contemporary Instrumental Album nomination for 2019’s “Take the Stairs,” which they followed up last November with a holiday album titled “Give Thanks.” Taking its name from jazz violinist Stuff Smith’s 1972 album of the same name, the band is about more than just recording — there’s a mission and a message in their music. The instrumentalists share their love for string instruments through their nonprofit, the Black Violin Foundation, which works with communities to provide students with music education programs and scholarships. Ahead of the duo's performance Aug. 12 at the Perkinson Center for the Arts, we spoke with violist Wil B about how he met his bandmate, his thoughts on Black Violin’s future and how a Busta Rhymes ringtone started it all.

Richmond magazine: How did you and Kev Marcus meet?

Baptiste: We were just kids in orchestra class in the inner city. [We both played] violas, [so we were] competitive against each other, just really trying to make each other better. I remember I came to school one day, and [Kev’s] cellphone was able to program ring tones. So he programmed Busta Rhymes’ “Give It to Me” [“I Know What You Want”]. We were all just really hyped about it. He gave us the notes, and we learned it. And we went to a competition a couple of months later with all of us playing that song, and everyone just went crazy.

RM: How did you start to integrate classical music into hip-hop?

Baptiste: It’s something that started with just a feeling. I give credit to hip-hop, because hip-hop is about expressing and being who you are, and we play these instruments that are not known for that. We didn’t grow up hearing people do that. But we were so immersed in hip-hop, and hip-hop is all about being yourself and doing you, and we knew classical music, we knew these instruments. So it was very natural for us to put the two worlds together. We started noticing that people actually liked this, and the rest of it is history. We just never looked back.

RM: Tell me about your performances at schools. Why do you think it’s important to reach a younger, often underprivileged audience?

Baptiste: Often, people that are low income are just forgotten or are not heard. The idea of classical music is just unreachable. We really try to make sure that our form is reachable to everyone, particularly the ones that just don’t have the opportunity to go see someone perform this instrument. So we feel like it’s important, and what we do, for whatever reason, really connects with the kids. It connects with people.

RM: What’s next for Black Violin?

Baptiste: The sky’s the limit, man. I see maybe another album. Maybe actually win a Grammy this time. [Laughs] Just really continuing this mission to get everyone to be a better version of themselves. I think music is a great way to get people to not only open up but to reach out and talk and touch. I think we live in a very divisive world. And we hope our music can continue to heal and continue to allow people to be heard through our music. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.