The Grammy-nominated musical duo of Kev Marcus and Wil Baptiste grew up learning classical music at school, but studying artists like Tupac and Wu-Tang Clan after hours. Lending strings to Alicia Keys’ “Karma” at the 2004 Billboard Awards (long before her Super Bowl pop-up last weekend) kicked off collaborations with 2 Chainz, Lil Wayne, and more for the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-launched project. Alongside Marcus’ violin and Baptiste’s viola/vocals, Black Violin’s current tour works in drums, a DJ, keys, and special guest Abraham Alexander, a Fort Worth singer-songwriter who played ACL Fest last year. – Rachel Rascoe