Directions for the Teacher

This guide supports engaging students with Black Violin’s electrifying fusion of classical string performance and hip-hop. Violinist Kev Marcus and violist Wil B. — both Florida-raised, classically trained musicians — have built a career on defying expectations and expanding the boundaries of what string instruments can do. Activities encourage listening, genre exploration, critical thinking, and personal connection to music across all grade levels. Student responses may be spoken, written, drawn, or enacted as appropriate.

About the Artists

Kevin Sylvester (Kev Marcus) and Wilner Baptiste (Wil B.) first met in orchestra class at Dillard Center for the Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Classically trained by day, they listened to hip-hop and R&B by night — and eventually fused those two worlds into something entirely their own. Black Violin has since performed for presidents, sold out the Kennedy Center, earned two Grammy nominations, and reached more than 100,000 students per year through the Black Violin Foundation. Their music challenges audiences to rethink what’s possible, encouraging students everywhere to find their own voice and make any instrument their own.

Watch & Listen

Introduce students to Black Violin’s genre-bending style through these video clips. Use the discussion prompts to guide observation and reflection before or after the performance.

Discussion Prompts

• What musical genres do you hear in Black Violin’s music? How do the violin and viola fit into a hip-hop sound?
• How does the music make you feel, and what specific elements (tempo, rhythm, melody, dynamics) create that feeling?
• Black Violin challenges the idea that classical music and hip-hop don’t belong together. Can you think of other examples where two very different things combine to make something new?
• Kev Marcus and Wil B. grew up in Florida and were classically trained before blending their skills with hip-hop. How do you think their background shaped their sound?
• What message do you think Black Violin is sending through their music and performances?

Activities & Extensions

• Genre Mapping: As a class, list all the musical genres and elements students can identify in a Black Violin track. Create a visual “genre map” connecting classical, hip-hop, R&B, and any other styles heard. Discuss how multiple influences can combine into something original.
• The Science of Sound: Explore how string instruments create vibrations. Discuss the difference between acoustic sound and electronic manipulation (amplifiers/loops). Standard: SC.4.P.10.3
• The Math of the Beat: Use a Black Violin track to identify patterns and rhythm. Have students clap out 4/4 time signatures or identify repeating sequences in the production. Standard: MA.K12.MTR.2.1
• Mapping Florida Roots: Locate Fort Lauderdale and Tallahassee on a map. Discuss how the geography and culture of Florida influenced the artists’ early education and career. Standard: SS.1.G.1.1
• Creative Response: Invite students to respond to a Black Violin track through writing, visual art, or movement. What story does the music tell for them personally? Share and discuss individual interpretations.
• Break the Stereotype: Discuss the concept of stereotypes in music (e.g., “classical music is only for certain people”). How can you, like Black Violin, defy expectations in your own interests? Standard: WL.K12.SU.8.3

Relevant Standards

Grades K–5

• MU.K.C.1.2: Identify various sounds in a piece of music.
• MU.3.H.2.1: Discuss how music in America was influenced by people and events in its history.
• SS.1.G.1.1: Use physical and political/cultural maps to locate places in Florida.
• SC.4.P.10.3: Investigate and explain that sound is produced by vibrating objects and that pitch depends on how fast or slow the object vibrates.
• MA.K12.MTR.2.1: Demonstrate understanding by representing problems in multiple ways.

Grades 6–8

• MU.68.C.1.1: Develop strategies for listening to unfamiliar musical works.
• MU.68.H.2.2: Analyze how technology has changed the way music is created, performed, acquired, and experienced.
• VA.68.H.1.1: Describe social, ecological, and economic conditions reflected in works of art.
• SS.8.G.4.4: Interpret hazard maps to matters regarding Florida (Discussion of regional environmental influences).

Grades 9–12

• MU.912.H.2.3: Analyze the evolution of a music genre.
• MU.912.F.2.2: Analyze the effect of the arts and entertainment industry on the economic and social health of communities and regions.
• WL.K12.SU.8.3: Research different aspects of the target culture(s) and own culture in order to evaluate and refine generalizations and dispel stereotypes.
• SC.912.P.10.20: Describe the measurable properties of different types of waves and explain that such waves can also be described by their energy and behavior.