Black Violin, an American hip-hop group from Florida, is made up of two classically trained string instrumentists. Kev Marcus plays the violin, and Wil B. the viola. Both attended Dillard High School of Performing Arts. After high school, Kev Marcus attended Florida International University. Wil B was enrolled at Florida State University. Kev met Sam G at FIU and they co-founded DKNEX, which stands for Di-Versatile Music. Black Violin’s name derives from Stuff Smith, a jazz violinist who recorded a solo album six months prior to Smith’s passing. They decided to call their group “Black Violin” after the music of Stuff Smith, the most inspirational violinist they’d ever heard. Black Violin won the Showtime at the Apollo 2005 Legend title. Black Violin has gained notoriety through their performances with Alicia Keys at 2004 Billboard Awards and on the same bill as some of the biggest names in the music industry. They are also avid producers and writers. They recently made a guest appearance on “Angelina Ballerina”, a PBS channel program. Black Violin was back in Florida for a concord in 2011. http://www.last.fm
