Elegant Beats

AS KIDS, Wilner Baptiste (viola) and Kevin Sylvester (violin) might have been labeled classical music nerds. They played in the orchestra at their Fort Lauderdale, Fla. performing arts high school and went to college on full music scholarships. They have excelled in an insular and rarified world: one in which people devote hours every day to mastering the subtleties of antique and unforgiving instruments and the difficult repertoire left by the dead white guys. It’s a sphere peopled almost entirely by whites and Asians, and Baptiste and Sylvester are neither.

“Wil B” Baptiste and “Kev Marcus” Sylvester are Black Violin, a duo that fuses the thrilling virtuosity of the European classical world with the booty-shaking funk and street-level grace of hip-hop. In September they released their first major-label album, Stereotypes.

While these two young men were honing their chops in that high school orchestra, they were also typical turn-of-the-century hip-hop kids, tuned into the world of rap. After graduating from different colleges, the two got back together and worked the South Florida clubs, developing an act that involved playing classical-string covers of hip-hop hits.

I know, this whole hip-hop and classical thing sounds like a gimmick, and if I’d read about it before I heard these guys, I probably wouldn’t have been interested. It sounds too much like the prog-rock abominations of the 1970s, when rock operas and rock symphonies almost killed off rock and roll.

But I was lucky enough to hear Black Violin live before I ever read about them. They were playing at a banquet honoring top academic achievers from historically black colleges and universities. It was the perfect pairing of artist and audience. Taking the stage backed by a live drummer and a deejay, Black Violin rocked the house with sophisticated sparkle.

After that, I looked for more online. The first thing I found was their funked-up adaptation of one of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. Then I stumbled into their cover of Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven,” and I was sold. These are gentlemen who know that all true art, from whatever century, speaks from and to the universal core of the human heart.

Black Violin sent a tape to Showtime at the Apollo, and in 2005 they took the top honors. Since then there have been two self-released albums and a grueling schedule of up to 200 live performances per year. Often they play in schools by day, promoting music education, and then again in a club or concert hall at night. But, not surprisingly, it’s taken 10 years for anyone in the music business to figure out what to do with them.

Stereotypes is produced by Eli Wolf, who has worked with such American treasures as Willie Nelson, Wynton Marsalis, and jazz singer Cassandra Wilson. Wolf hooked Black Violin up with guest rappers Pharoahe Monch and Black Thought of The Roots and pianist and singer Kandace Springs.

The title track features spoken words, drifting in and out of the mix, on preconceptions, race-based and otherwise, about people and their cultures. The rest of the record puts that simple idea into practice with original tunes blending hip-hop and R&B grooves with soaring string adventures. There are also two covers. One, “Shaker,” is a Black Violin-ized interpretation of the “Simple Gifts” melody from Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring. The other is an instrumental rendering of “Walk on By” that recalls the Isaac Hayes version more than Dionne Warwick’s.

Black Violin appeals to the mind, the spirit, and the body. They are still on the road year-round, so they are bound to be near you eventually. Check them out.