A summertime golf game between two high-school band teachers decided the musical fate of Wilner âWil Bâ Baptiste. Though the teenaged Bahamian immigrant had his heart set on learning the saxophone, his future string instructor beat the brass master at 18 holes. With a pivotal winning shot, Baptisteâs dreams of thumbing sultry numbers in jazz clubs for tips vanished, and instead he began learning bowing techniques on his brand-new viola.
Baptiste was invited to enroll in a performing arts high school the following year, where he excelled in viola and met Kevin âKev Marcusâ Sylvester, a fellow Black string player whoâd become a lifelong friend and the other half of their classically influenced hip-hop group Black Violin.
As freshly minted college graduates, Baptiste and Sylvester initially sought to become the next Neptunes. Together they reinvented radio hits, infusing pop music with Bach-informed baroque and the sounds of old-school rap from their youth. The duoâs first tracks often clocked in around 10 minutes, and consisted of both original compositions and mash-ups that they performed in nightclubs around Miami. The moniker they decided on, Black Violin, is a nod to Black violinist Stuff Smith and his 1965 album of the same name.
âIn 2003, weâd play gigs and try to put ourselves out there in South Florida,â Baptiste says over the phone. âReggaeton was really in at that point, and even though [shows] were cool because we were all vibing, Miami just wasnât that place [for us]. But New York? New York was that place.â
When Black Violin entered the revered Amateur Night competition at Harlemâs Apollo Theater, Baptiste says the crowd âwent nuts before we even played a note. We didnât realize we had something really special until Apollo. It really validated this whole thing that we thought was dope.â Unsurprisingly, that night they took home the title of 2005 Legend.
After their Apollo performance garnered nationwide attention, the duo shared bills with icons like Wu-Tang Clan, Kanye West, and Tom Petty. In 2013, they performed at President Obamaâs second Inaugural Ball as part of a lineup that also included Alicia Keys and Smokey Robinson. Two years later, they welcomed their first major label release, Stereotypes.
The albumâs opening title track ends with a voiceover in which Sylvester explains how the duoâs physical presence as Black men often incites fear. When asked how their music challenges this perception, Baptiste says, âWe chip at it every time we hop onstage. When you leave this show, if [someone] comes across a person that looks like me, theyâre going to think twice about thinking that person is going to do something.â Even with lyrics that stem from their own experiences combatting stereotypes, Baptiste clarifies that this album centers on reclaiming individuality.
âWe want to shatter any and every stereotype,â he says. âWhether it is [the perception of] what a Black man is capable of, what a violin is capable of, or if youâre young, youâre old, or youâre a girl. If [they say] you canât do it, thatâs what itâs all about. Thatâs even more reason to do it. We live the life of shattering stereotypes.â
The duo works toward this vision by inviting youth orchestras to perform alongside them onstage. âKids are the future, so itâs up to us to get these kids to love themselves and who they are,â Baptiste says. âThey go crazy for this music, and [you can] see it in their eyesâhow they transform just by seeing a show. By [watching me] play viola, this little boy is like, âI can do anything now,â and thatâs very powerful.â
Though 2016âs Unity Tour was originally planned to last just one season, Black Violin retained the name for their current tour schedule. âItâs probably going to be called the Unity Tour for a while,â Baptiste says. âUnity means inclusivenessâpeople coming together like kids would, no matter where theyâre from or what their background is. Letâs come together, even [if] itâs just for one night, and enjoy this. Hopefully in the lobby, we can talk and have a conversation. This countryâthis worldâneeds it. We all need it now.â