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■ Black Violin
Black Violin is an American hip hop duo from Fort Lauderdale, Florida comprising two classically trained string instrumentalists, Kevin Sylvester and Wilner Baptiste, who go by the stage names Kev Marcus and Wil B. Kev Marcus plays the violin, and Wil B. plays the viola. 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.

We have two extra tickets to see Black Violin at The Dakota Jazz Club. Do you want to go? Yes, please! And with that my wife and I were out of the house on a Thursday night. Sometimes old people do stuff. Before the show we met our friends for dinner at Lumi, which is a Turkish-inspired fusion restaurant with some really delicious offerings, and it’s a two-minute walk to the Dakota.

Our table was stage left on the balcony. For those sitting closer to the balcony railing, it’s an excellent view; for those of us who were sitting in the seats further from the railing, the view was the back of our friends’ heads. After some shifting, we were able to make it work. Regardless of the sight line the sound was amazing! Black Violin is in town for a three-show stint at the Dakota and this was the first show. DJ SPS and drummer Nat Stokes quietly took to the stage and settled into their spots around 7:30. Late? Maybe, but we had a round of drinks and were catching up with friends, so it was all good. Wilner Baptiste, stage name Wil B. and Kevin Sylvester, stage name Kev Marcus, joined a few minutes later and we were off. There was not much of a reaction as they started playing, which always strikes me as odd. Maybe it’s because the audience is seated and eating?

This tour is in support of their latest album, Full Circle. For the first time, setlist.fm has failed me, so I do not have a setlist, and they did not mention the names of their songs with the exception of “Drama”. No matter, I was still able to thoroughly enjoy the show. As the show continued, the crowd’s excitement built. Maybe the audience at the Dakota makes an artist earn their praise? I can respect that, and Black Violin certainly earned it. My best view was of drummer, Nat Stokes, and he was a ton of fun to watch; drumming at a blinding speed while looking cool as a cucumber. How does one keep one’s face so expressionless while moving the rest of one’s body so much? They pretty quickly moved through four or five songs and then switched gears with Wil B singing “Just the Two of Us” followed by a second song I did not recognize.

Kev explained to the crowd how blessed they felt being able to “travel the word doing this. Whatever this is, and to keep things interesting for themselves and the audience they like to “freestyle””. This transitioned into the four of them just playing off of one another. It was a lot of fun to see such masters of their craft explore music, which included Wil B. playing his viola like a guitar (take that William Primrose!). After freestyling for awhile, everyone but DJ SPS left the stage and we were treated to some really amazing DJing. Full disclosure, not my area of expertise, but he blew my socks off (yeah, my early 1900s slang will earn me your respect). This was probably the first time I’ve seen a DJ like this live, maybe period but certainly of this caliber. His ability to mix songs and beats was impressive. He worked in “Owner of a Lonely Heart” by Yes! And “I Wear My Sunglasses at Night” by Corey Hart.

Kev, Wil, and Nat came back out to continue the full show. They played “Stereotypes”, the first song off their first album of the same name. It’s a really powerful song. It’s worth noting that at some point during the show a young boy (ten to twelve maybe) who was sitting floor level stage right started really feeling the music, which meant he was up dancing and moving to the beat. I don’t know that he stole the show, but he certainly made an impression on the audience and the band. He could move! At one point, he went down into splits a la Jame Brown. He just added to the show. For the final song, two more boys – even younger – joined in on the fun. For me, the measure of a show is how much joy it creates. This show did that and then some; the music, the talent, the audience all worked together for something special. The night ended with (perhaps a bit cliché but I still dug it) Kev Marcus pulling his baseball cap off and planting it on the head of the little boy who had been dancing all night. It brought genuine appreciation to the audience and especially the boy. Thanks for a great night, Black Violin!