‘We don’t let people define who or what we are.’ ‘Black Violin’ plays at the Byham, March 12

by Genea L. Webb

For New Pittsburgh Courier org.

For Hip-Hop instrumental group Black Violin, the violin and viola are not just instruments.

“The Violin is our tool to be able to inspire, uplift and entertain,” said Wil B., one half of the dynamic duo known as Black Violin.

Entertain, uplift and inspire is what the group plans to do on its March 12th visit to the Byham Theater during a welcomed stop on its “Experience” tour. The show is at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at www.trustarts.

“The ‘Experience’ tour is us taking certain songs and re-introducing those songs in a different way.

The show is very high energy and entertaining. We introduce songs that we have never performed before and we will still play some hits that people are used to hearing,” Wil B. said.

Joining Black Violin on stage are Nat Stokes on drums, DJ SPS on turntables and Liston Gregory on keys.

Black Violin burst onto the musical landscape in 2004 performing with Alicia Keys at the 2004 Billboard Music Awards. They went on to win “Showtime at the Apollo” in 2005 and for almost two decades have been blurring the lines between classical music and modern HipHop beats and vocals.

Front men Kev Marcus and Wil Baptiste first met in orchestra class at Dil- lard High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., becoming classically trained on the violin and viola through their high school and college years. Upon graduating, the pair reconnected to produce beats for Florida rappers and began building a strong following in local clubs. The duo’s 2019 effort, “Take the Stairs,” earned a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. The group plays approximately 200 shows a year, many of which are for young, low-income students in urban communities. The band received its second Grammy Award nomination as Best Americana Performance for the song, “The Message,” in collaboration with the Blind Boys of Alabama. “We did a few big venues with the Blind Boys of Alabama, and they wanted to collaborate with us. They sent us a song and we sent them music and they loved it and it ended up earning us our second Grammy nomination. The Blind Boys of Alabama are still out there doing their thing for 60-plus years. That’s a long time to be touring. That’s inspiring alone. They are still rocking. They are still doing it,” Wil B. said.

The group is glad to be back on the road again interacting with audiences.

“Our mission as people is to take something, perfect it and give it away,” said Wil B., who enjoys playing basketball when he isn’t recording or touring.

Black Violin’s touring screeched to a halt thanks to COVID-19.

“During the pandemic, we sat down and we didn’t tour much. We were home for two and a half years and I got the chance to bond with my kids and family,” recalled Wil B., who has three children, ages 7, 5 and 4. “In 2020 we did a Christmas al- bum, ‘Give Thanks.’ We had been wanting to do a Christmas album for a long time and that seemed like the perfect time. In 2021 we went out and we did nine or 10 shows, there were still lockdowns, people still had to wear masks. In 2022 we did virtual events—we used Kev’s garage—and we did corporate events and masterclasses with kids.”

In 2019, Kev Marcus and Wil B. launched the Black Violin Foundation Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering youth by providing access to quality music programs in their community. The group believes that music and access to music shouldn’t be determined by race, gender, or socio-economic status. Black Violin Foundation’s inaugural program, the Musical Innovation Grant for Continuing Education, provides scholarships to young music students to attend a program of their liking that fosters musical creativity and innovation.

“The foundation is an extension of our outreach stuff and what we do on the road when we talk to kids,” Wil B. said. “We help kids not to let their dreams be snuffed out because of things outside of their control. Our advice to them is to be true to who they are, and people will be drawn to you. If you are true to who you are, everything else will flow. As a violinist and being Black, people tend to put you in boxes. Black Violin is defying the odds because we don’t let people define who or what we are.”

Pittsburgh’s own Jennifer Bruce —a basketball legend

2023, fans gathered at the Petersen Events Center in Oakland, in part to watch the Panthers do battle with Notre Dame, but just as much to celebrate the retiring of #12, the game shirt of Jennifer Bruce. Bruce became just the second female athlete at Pitt to have her jersey retired, and the sixth basketball player at Pitt to do so. She scored 2,295 points in a Panther uniform from 1981-85, and also collected 998 rebounds and blocked 203 shots.

“To say that I’m elated, proud, appreciative and humbled at the same time would be an understatement,” expressed Bruce, in a statement from the university to local media. “I can’t honestly say that growing up and loving this game so much that I would be having my jersey number retired at a major university, it is truly unbelievable and it’s the ultimate honor.

I would like to thank the University of Pittsburgh Athletic Department, my teammates of course, my family and friends. Besides my big brother, and my children there are two people in heaven who are extremely proud, Marguerite and Clarence

Bruce. There is no me without them.”

Pitt athletic director

Heather Lyke recalled Bruce as an “incredible player, dynamic leader, and inspiring role mod - ognizing the league’s greatest players over its initial 25 years while also becoming Pitt’s first recipient of the ACC’s Women’s Basketball Legends award in 2014. Bruce ranks first in Big East history in conference games scoring average (23.3 ppg) and ranks 11th in conference game rebounding average (9.7 rpg). el for so many while also laying the foundation of excellence for all future Pitt female student-athletes. Jennifer is well deserving of this honor, not only because of her accolades on the basketball court but because of the lasting impact she made on the Pitt community and athletic department during her four years as a Panther. A true legend of the program, Jennifer’s jersey will serve as inspirational goal for future Pitt women’s basketball players.”

A three-time first-team

All-Big East honoree, Bruce was named the 1984 Big East Co-Player of the Year after she averaged 23.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, according to a Pitt news release. She was named to the Big East Silver Anniversary Squad, rec -

Now as a famous spokesperson once said, “Here’s the rest of the story.” Once married to the late, great Rod Scott, a standout player at Duquesne University, and the mother to two superstar players, Shayla and Tyler, Jennifer Bruce never let her success and accomplishments get to her head. If you knew her, you knew her success and you certainly knew the family legacy. Not only those mentioned, but her nieces and extended family members that added to the Bruce sports history. It would take another edition or two to log in all the records and achievements as well as her professional and community accomplishments. But this has to be re-emphasized—the number of lives Jennifer Bruce has impacted and affected are immeasurable. The head basket - ball coaching positions, such as at Gateway High School, the countless AAU trips and games and the endless basketball clinics and special appearances she made for hundreds of groups during her career. plishments she achieved as a student-athlete are beyond measure. We couldn’t be more excited to honor her and the legacy she left here at Pitt by raising her jersey into the rafters.”