When Black Violin made their St. Louis debut nearly ten years ago, they left a lasting impression on the sold‑out audience at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The duo—Wil Baptiste and Kev Marcus—is bringing their show‑stopping hip hop symphony back to the region next Saturday (Feb. 7). Drummer Nat Stokes, keyboardist Liston Gregory and DJ SPS will join them at The Factory.
“Our approach is to always mess with your head,” Baptiste said. “To give you something you’ve never heard, never thought of—and the violin and the viola are the glue that pieces it together.”
The duo describes their sound as “classical boom.”
“You don’t think of classical music as hard‑hitting, so we like to think of ourselves as disruptors,” Baptiste said. “As artists, and as men, we have grown—and that definitely comes across in the new album Full Circle.”
Baptiste plays the viola alongside Marcus on violin. His path to the instrument was accidental. He originally planned to play the saxophone when he signed up for a summer program at Sunrise Middle School in South Florida.
“When I went into class there were no saxophones—just string instruments,” Baptiste said. “I was stuck with the class for two weeks, but I kinda liked it, and 28 years later I’m still playing.”
For more than 20 of those years, he has played with Marcus. The pair met at Dillard High School of Performing Arts, where they shared the same music teacher. They caught the entertainment industry’s attention with repeated wins on “Showtime at the Apollo” in the early 2000s.
With careers that began in the classroom, Black Violin understands the power of youth arts education. In 2019, Baptiste and Marcus launched the Black Violin Foundation, which awards grants and instrument donations to support the next generation of artists.
“The goal of our foundation is really to fill the gaps,” Baptiste said. “We had a lot of individuals who were pivotal in our careers, and that is what we want to do for kids who are also trying to pursue this instrument.”
That “happy little accident” in Baptiste’s middle‑school music room has since evolved into national tours, Grammy nominations and a career of enthralling audiences with singing, strings and bouncing 808s—now including seven new songs from the Full Circle album.
Songs like “Drama” are gritty yet classical—sharp and hard‑hitting—while tracks like “Smoke” resemble a soulful lullaby that invites listeners to sing along. At the upcoming show, audiences can also expect to hear Baptiste’s vocal stylings.
“I didn’t really consider myself a singer until eight years ago,” he said. “It’s one of those things that grew and developed over time.”
Baptiste said audiences often feel free enough to dance and move in the aisles, “with their eyes closed—lost in the music.”
“The vibe of our shows is energetic and inclusive,” he added. “We encourage people to get up and dance and move—however you feel, feel free to express that.”
He’s excited to bring their sound back to St. Louis.
“I think there will be people who have seen it before and will be hype and excited,” Baptiste said. “And there will be people who have no idea and just saw a violin and two Black dudes. They’re gonna be fresh and brand new and get hit in the chest—in a good way.”
He describes the show as a full‑circle emotional journey, with “peaks and valleys of how we started off and where we are now.”
“At the end of the show I’m gonna get everybody to stand up and put their hands in the air,” Baptiste said. “That’s just how it is.”
Black Violin will play The Factory at The District at 7 p.m. on Saturday, February 7. For more information, visit www.thefactorystl.com.