March 5, 2024: Today, GRAMMY-nominated classical-meets-hip-hop duo Black Violin released their new single and video “ https://youtu.be/IomGObVExvM?si=mJIdXMkSNrSFs-FS" rel="nofollow - Phil Beaudreau (Dr. Dre, Justin Bieber, The Game, Lalah Hathaway), the song is the second single released from their upcoming album Full Circle, set for release later this spring. “Nothing has ever been recorded like this song,” says Black Violin’s Kev Marcus. “There is no song in the history of songs that’s a viola solo like that. I watch a lot of Beat Bobby Flay, and the chefs are like, ‘This is me on a plate’—this is Wil on a track. It’s what the viola has always wanted, since the days of Bach, to be able to shine in a melodic, super-soulful way, and no one else in the world could make that song but us.” 

Black Violin members Wil Baptiste and Kev Marcus met on the first day of orchestra class in 1996 at Dillard High School of the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale. (Baptiste originally wanted to play saxophone in the band, but the orchestra teacher got him assigned to his class after winning a golf bet with the band instructor.) Classically trained by day, they faithfully put on their headphones and listened to the hottest rap records each night. They went to different colleges—Marcus attended Florida International University and Baptiste went to Florida State—but then reconvened, moved into an apartment together, and started trying to produce other musicians.

They developed an act covering hip-hop songs on their violins, which became popular in local clubs. Two years after sending in a tape to Showtime at the Apollo, they were invited to appear on the show—which they won, and kept winning. They were approached by the manager of Alicia Keys, who asked them to perform with the singer at the Billboard Awards. Other offers followed—they toured with Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, opened for the Wu-Tang Clan, and worked with the likes of Alessia Cara, 2 Chainz, and Lil Wayne. All the while, Black Violin continued touring non-stop (playing as many as 200 shows a year) and released two independent, self-financed albums before putting out the acclaimed Stereotypes in 2016, followed by 2019’s Take the Stairs, which was nominated for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at the 2020 GRAMMYs. 

from https://soultracks.com