Black Violin to play at Freeman Arts Pavilion Aug. 13

Freeman Arts Pavilion will present a performance by classical-meets-hip-hop duo Black Violin at 7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 13.

For over 17 years, Black Violin members Kev Marcus and Wil Baptiste have been merging string arrangements with modern beats and vocals. The two met in orchestra class at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and became classically trained on the violin and viola through their high school and college careers.

After college, they reconvened to produce beats for South Florida rappers, and began building an audience in local clubs. They later went on to win Showtime at the Apollo in 2005, and eventually sold out headline performances at venues across the country, including a sold-out, two-night headline run at the Kennedy Center in 2018. Their unique brand of merging hip hop, the genre they were listening to, with classical, the world they were studying, was celebrated through collaborations with Alicia Keys, Wu Tang Clan, 2 Chainz and others.

For more information or to purchase tickets, go to freemanarts.org.