When an artist is name-checked by the likes of hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, the Fugees’ Wyclef Jean, and Carnegie Hall (where she’s performed)’s acclaimed violinist Isaac Stern, you know they’ve gotta be pretty special.
And no, Miri Ben-Ari isn’t a classical musician-she’s a hip-hop violinist. Known by most hip-hop fans from her dazzling work on Kanye West’s debut (on which she wrote, produced, arranged and performed all the strings), and from Twista’s hit single “Overnight Celebrity,” Ben-Ari has single-handedly turned the violin into a hip-hop mainstay.
A former jazz musician, the Israeli-born Ben-Ari’s love for hip-hop and R&B led her to combine the sweet sound of strings with hip-hop beats to make some of the best-sounding jams around.
Ben-Ari’s talent is obvious right off the bat, as the sweeping strings are grand on opening track “We Gonna Win,” which features striking verses from rapper Styles P (the first on a long list of guests which includes rap heavyweights West and Fabolous, as well as some of R&B’s brightest stars: John Legend, Anthony Hamilton, and Akon).
West, one of Ben-Ari’s mentors, appears twice on the album: alongside Ben-Ari, Fabolous, and Musiq Soulchild on the soulful “Fly Away,” and on “New World Symphony” (which he also produced), one of the record’s best tracks that’s reminiscent of the Talib Kweli classic “Get By.”
At 15 songs, Ben-Ari doesn’t clutter her album with filler tracks, and with the exception of a rather out-of-place rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner,” there’s nary a bad track. At the same time, the record is missing a surefire radio hit to help broaden her audience.
Unlike some of her contemporaries’ records, The Hip-Hop Violinist might not sell millions, but Ben-Ari has quietly crafted one of the most creative hip-hop albums of the year.-SAMIR SIDDIQUI, Special Hip-Hop Assistant to the Arts Editor
