This exciting and popular musical sensation, Black Violin is an American hip-hop duo comprising two classically trained string instrumentalists, Kevin Sylvester and Wilner Baptiste.  They play a variety of music (relying heavily upon classical music), but are often categorized as hip-hop because of the changes to the rhythm and beats. This mingling of hip-hop and classical sensibilities gives them their distinctive style. Black Violin accompanied Alicia Keys at the 2004 Billboard Awards and they have collaborated with Kanye West, Tom Petty, Lupe Fiasco, Aerosmith and others.