Inner city kid turned violinist

Esra Erdogan/Life! Editor 

esra.erdogan@fiusm.com

Alumnus Kev Marcus credits his musical beginnings to the desk job he had at the Green Library while he was an undergrad.

“As Black Violin was being created, I was just starting to mess around with the production of music. There was a music lab on the fifth floor [of the library]. I was working at the info desk on the second floor, so I would spend hours on the fifth floor producing music. FIU gave me that outlet,” said Marcus.

Since graduating in 2003 with a bachelor’s in music, Marcus has become an accomplished musician and producer.

The violinist’s lengthy resume with his partner Wil B. in their group Black Violin includes performing with Alicia Keys, touring with Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park and a contract to perform at the Super Bowl tailgate later this year. Black Violin fuses hip-hop and classical music to create a totally unique sound. The South Floridian natives will be performing at the Miramar Cultural Center on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 8 p.m.

Q: Where did the inspiration for Black Violin come from?

A: [My partner Wil and I] grew up in tougher neighborhoods in Ft. Lauderdale, and we weren’t afforded a lot of opportunities. But one of our opportunities was playing music and interpreting music in [a] public magnet school. Coming from a hard background, we listened to Biggie, Busta Rhymes or Jay-Z and then headed to second period orchestra class. It was almost fate. We were hip-hop enough and classical enough to make this work. We were young inner city black kids who studied the violin and took it seriously.

Q: How did you two meet?

A: We met as band partners at Dillard High School in Ft. Lauderdale, and we were in the same orchestra class.

Q:  How     do    you   describe your style?

A: I would say we’re hip-hop meets classical. That alone sounds crazy. Imagine going to iTunes and seeing hip-hop and classical. That’s our sound—and it works. Because people like hip-hop, you’ll like us, and if you like classical, you’ll like us, but you don’t need to like both to have to like us. That’s the cool thing. We have a little funk in there, and we play a lot of jazz. And we play classical instruments in a classical way. A little bit of jazz, funk, reggae — there’s something for everybody.

Q: You have worked with a number of very talented musicians. Who did you have the most honor to work with?

A: First was Alicia Keys. We did the Billboard Awards with her in 2003, and we were playing a hard violin line with her live in front of millions of viewers. Now, she’s a hall of fame-r, but she was really hot at the time. I’m just honored to have been part of her career in any way, shape or form. I gained valuable experience from playing with Alicia. The second person was Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park. [He was doing a side project], and we toured Asia. It was incredible to travel the world and see everything through the rock star lifestyle. We were so lucky to work with two superstar artists, but they were so humble and chill and cool people. I loved every second working with them.

Q: What is your dream collaboration?

A: You know what would be crazy? Stevie Wonder would be an amazing dream collab. I’ve never worked with Beyonce, and I’m in awe of her. I like Lady Gaga because she’s crazy. That would be an insane collaboration. Stevie is number one, [though], because he’s a legend; there is no denying his legend.

Q: You are more than a performer. You are also a producer and writer. How does the behind-the-scenes perspective affect your work?

A: I like to think that me and Wil — we can do so many things. Because we can do so much, it keeps us versatile and we can move and adapt, even from the touring side of it. We’re playing colleges, we’re playing the Super Bowl tailgate party and the Kennedy Center.

We play so many different types of things. You can look at the performing side and the producing side of it. We can score commercials and TV shows like “CSI,” and we scored the Kobe [Bryant] and Lebron [James] Vitamin Water ad. As artists and entertainers, it’s great to do different things like perform at the Super Bowl or score a commercial. We just came back from Iraq last year and performed for the troops. We’re blessed; [we] couldn’t ask for a better job.

Q: Exposure to classical music at a young age was important for you. Would you like to see all primary school students with the same exposure?

A: I think it’s important for them to be exposed to music, in general, in a creative way. Maybe not just music, but arts in general. It’s a different part of you that works when you’re being creative. To deprive students from being artists or dancers is the main problem. I look at my career and think, “What would I do if I hadn’t had the opportunity to be creative in my public school education?” I wouldn’t know what I would be doing. I learned everything in public school. It’s not just about dollar signs, but it’s important because of the kind of people that it creates.

If I had it my way, every kid would be playing something, especially classical music because it teaches discipline. But who am I? I’m just a violin player.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: Right now, we’re working on so much. We had a great last six years, and we’re looking to grow — to be bigger and better than last year. We have an album coming out called “Classically Trained.” It’s challenging to the ear but in a good way.

Black Violin will perform on Saturday, January 14 at 8 p.m. at the Miramar Cultural Center | ArtsParkGeneral performance tickets are $15, $18 and $22. A master class is available on Saturday, January 14 at 2 p.m. for $25, but participants must meet requirements and pre-register by calling 954-602-4521.