 On May 21st 2005 Black Violin, two classically trained
musicians took home the title "2005 Apollo Legends" which catapulted them to
international fame. These two gentlemen, KeV Marcus and Wil b along with their
DJ TK have created the ultimate synergy between classical and Hip-Hop music, and
with it an incredible opportunity to reach young children. Since their triumph
at the Apollo, Black Violin has toured with Linkin Park's lead singer Mike
Shinoda throughout the country, performed at the NFL Kick off party with Puff
Daddy "Diddy", performed at the Billboard Awards with Alicia Keys, been featured
on the Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, Lil Kim's, Brooke Hogan's upcoming albums,
and has been giving an Award by the Brooklyn Center for Performing Arts for
their Outstanding Contributions to Middle & High School Performing Arts
Students. Kev Marcus, and Wil b, both graduates of Dillard Performing Arts High
School, used their musical talents to earn full scholarships to college. Now
Black Violin wants to make sure that America's young people get the same
exposure to the arts, and therefore the same opportunity that they did.
Wil-B “Simply Sick” age 23, attended Dillard High School of Performing Arts, and
joined the school band where he played the saxophone. At the age of 13 he was
mistakenly put in the strings section of the band. But as luck would have it he
mastered and grew to love it. He has participated with local pop orchestras such
as the Young Artist Contemporary Orchestra in Palm Beach, Florida. Not only is
this young man talented on the violin but he also can sing, play the piano,
drums, trumpet and the bass guitar. His influences include some well - known
musical artists such as Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, AZ, Jill Scott, Talib Kwali
and Ludacris.
The second master of this unique duo, Kev Marcus, age 23, also attended Dillard
High School of Performing Arts. He was encouraged by his mother and teachers at
the age of nine to begin playing the violin. From there he grew so intrigued by
it that he couldn’t let it go. He also began to participate with the local pop
orchestras, the Miami Symphony and was also a semi-finalist in the Sphinx
National Competition for Blacks and Latino’s in 2000. His musical artist
influences are past great pioneers of the music world, such as Herbie Hancock,
George Benson, Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and Nat King Cole. Kev Marcus also has
been influenced by some of today’s artists such as Mos Def, Notorious BIG, and
Tupac Shakur.
After high school the two enrolled at the Florida State University. There they
met their manager Sam G and co-founded the production DKNEX which stands for
Di-Versatile Music. Their group name, “Black Violin” is derived from the
influence of a famous Jazz violinist, Stuff Smith, who changed the art and way
of music played on a violin, and whose last album was entitled Black Violin.
“Black Violin” captivated the audience in Harlem and clinched the Showtime at
the Apollo 2005 Legend title. Black Violin's notoriety has risen with their
amazing performance accompanying Alicia Keys at the 2004 Billboard Awards, and
by performing on the same bill with some of the industry's biggest artists. Such
artists include Aerosmith, The Eagles, Stevie Nicks, Linkin Park, 50 Cent, Lloyd
Banks, Nas, Fabolous, Ciara, Fat Joe, Lil Wayne, Tony Touch, and Miami's own
Iconz and Wrecognize just to name a few. Black Violin’s ardor for music and
neo-classical, innovative, urban style of violin mixtures, vocals, and funk has
exploded onto the music scene with the consistency of listeners wanting more and
more.
The duo has also performed on the Thank God its Friday Comedy Tour, The Tonight
Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Carson Daly Show, Good Morning
Chicago, Fox News In the Morning, BET Black Film Festival, and Jax Live ESPN to
name a few. With events ranging from concerts, to colleges, to elementary
schools, to Bar Mitzvah’s and their musical knowledge there is no reason this
unique duo should not be your number one performance band and on your tour list.
View Video Clip
Here
|
