Concert Critique
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Concert Critique
Kanye West meets Beethoven is the only way to describe the three gentlemen who make up the sensational violinist duo known as Black Violin. Kev Marcus and Wil B are the violinists and are accompanied by DJ TK. Black Violin has created incredible synergy between classical and Hip-Hop music. They have created beautiful music like I have never heard before. They first made their big splash when they won the 2005 “Apollo Legends” contest in the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. They take the hip-hop culture and music and blend it together with the classical genre, and trust me your ears will thank you for taking them to the show. I admit I am not a huge fan of violins and the music they can create, but hip-hop is my life and I spend most of my days listening to it. I trusted that the hip-hop aspect of their music was enough to give them a chance. I would soon find later that I was not only impressed but became an immediate fan. Black Violin composes music that nobody else can offer, and it is an innovative way to introduce children to the classical genre and all it has to offer.
They opened up the concert with their own renditions of some of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time. They attempted everything from Jay-Z to Biz Markie and excelled in recreating the songs while the whole time added there own flavor to the music. Hearing you favorite Jay-Z songs played by violin is an experience in itself. They use the violins to recreate the sample that each song would use and had DJ TK add heavy bass to create music that takes control of your hips and forces you to dance, and I don’t dance. Kev Marcus and Wil B are incredible violinists with a rare talent that nobody can recreate. There chemistry on stage together rivaled that of the chemistry of some of the greatest groups such as Rolling Stones, The Beatles, or even the hip-hop legends The Wu Tang Clan. You could really tell they have been playing together for 12 years. The real show began when they decided to perform some of their own music. When they played their song “Brandenburg” (I looked up their music after the show and found out all the names) I really became a fan of their music. The violins along with the DJ scratches and drum kits used on the track are sensational; it was like I witnessed a musical masterpiece being created before my very eyes. The sounds the violins created sounded similar to those of large orchestra groups playing at an Opera House. They not only use violins, I’m guessing they add the snares and kicks with the help of a drum machine. The violin duo attacked the music with such precision and elegance, that it had me closing my eyes and bobbing my head, is was like I was experiencing a personal concert. “Brandenburg” was and is my favorite piece by them. There other music reminded me a lot of watching a ballet dance elegantly move on stage and create poetry with her legs. I was standing in complete shock