Ravinia 2022, Issue 1

LISA LEONE (BLACK VIOLIN) PAVILION 7:30 PM SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 2022 BLACK VIOLIN –Intermission– COMMON A MESSAGE FROM ALLSTATE Allstate is committed to ensuring all young people have access to programs that empower them to succeed and lead. We’re proud to partner with Ravinia again this year to support its Reach Teach Play programs that inspire Chicago’s youth to be creative, confident, optimistic leaders of tomorrow. More information on Allstate’s commitment to creating a more just and equitable society can be found at AllstateSustainability.com. COMMON Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, Common began rapping during his teens and got his first break in the early ’90s when he was featured in The Source magazine’s “Un- signed Hype.” He made his recording debut in 1992 with “Take It EZ” and the album Can I Borrow a Dollar? , and two years later he reached a wider audience with his sophomore album, Resurrection , and the track “I Used to Love H.E.R.” attacking prevalent hip hop sub- jects of the time. Common’s first album under that moniker, One Day It’ll All Make Sense , appeared in 1997, featuring collaborations with such artists as Lauryn Hill, De La Soul, Black Thought, and Questlove. Those last two proved an important connection, as Com- mon subsequently signed a major-label deal with MCA and fell in with Questlove’s “Soul- quarians,” guesting on the seminal records Things Fall Apart by The Roots and Black Star by Mos Def and Talib Kweli. That envi- ronment fueled his critical breakthrough Like Water for Chocolate (2000), gaining consid- erable popularity for “The Sixth Sense” and “The Light,” the latter earning the rapper his first Grammy nomination. After guesting on Kanye West’s The College Dropout , Common crafted 2005’s four-time Grammy-nominated Be with the fellowChicagoan.Their second al- bum together, 2007’s Finding Forever , topped the charts and won Common the Grammy for Best Duo/Group Rap Performance for “Southside.” Around this time, Common also began appearing in major films like Ameri- can Gangster and Wanted . He achieved a ca- reer highlight with his role in the Best Pic- ture Oscar–nominated film Selma (2014), for which he and John Legend co-wrote the Os- car-, Golden Globe–, and Grammy-winning theme song, “Glory.” Common most recently starred in Alice , which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, and has also fea- tured in John Wick: Chapter 2 , The Hate You Give , and The Informer , plus Mindy Kaling’s Netflix series Never Have I Ever . Common’s memoir Let Love Have the Last Word and a companion album, inspired by his work on the book, were released in 2019. His latest disc, A Beautiful Revolution, Pt. 2 , continues a call to action on racial, social, and economic justice begun during the 2020 height of the pandemic. Common made his Ravinia debut in 2017 and is making his third appearance at the festival. BLACK VIOLIN Black Violin is led by classically trained string musicians Wil B. (viola) and Kev Marcus (vi- olin), who first became acquainted in sum- mer music camps and at Dillard High School of the Performing Arts in Florida. While attending universities separately on music scholarships, they maintained their perfor- mance connection and established both a production company, Di-Versatile Music, and their identity as a duo, borrowing the moniker “Black Violin” from the name of an album by jazz violinist Stuff Smith. After their national exposure backing Alicia Keys at the 2004 Billboard Awards, the duo gave a string of audience-favorite performances on Showtime at the Apollo ’s amateur night competitions and won the show’s top prize in 2005. In the midst of tour spots alongside the likes of Wu-Tang Clan, Fort Minor, and Kanye West—as well as performing in an ep- isode of CSI: NY in 2006—Black Violin was also working on a debut album, releasing the eponymous disc in 2008 with their Di-Ver- satile Music label. Additional collaborations with the likes of Wyclef Jean, Tom Petty, Lupe Fiasco, and Aerosmith followed, and after releasing their second album, Classically Trained , in 2012, the duo was invited to play at an inaugural ball for the second term of the Obama presidency. Black Violin signed with Universal Music Classics and released the critically acclaimed album Stereotypes in 2015. The collection landed the duo not only at the top of Billboard ’s classical crossover chart but also at number four on the R&B albums chart. The following year, Black Violin began work on original music for the Fox television series Pitch , and the duo became the official artist of the 2016 and 2017 Heisman Trophy Award ceremonies on ESPN as well as the 2017 US Open tournament for tennis. The duo also began working with the Turnaround Arts program of the Kennedy Center in 2017, partnering with schools in their home state to return arts education to classrooms. Black Violin released its latest studio album, Take the Stairs , on Di-Versatile Music in 2019, again topping the classical charts as well as scoring top-10 marks on the R&B chart, and also added a holiday album, Give Thanks , in 2020. Black Violin made its Ravinia debut last summer. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JUNE 15 – JULY 3, 2022 30 I I I