In the live music world, the demographics of hip-hop and classical music are seldom combined with any sense of cross-pollinating intention. But with more and more of us breaking out of our genre silos, why shouldn’t orchestral performance join itself to the music of the streets?
Two South Florida concerts are squaring this circle this weekend. First, Candlelight Concerts, which specializes in “classical music for every taste,” will present its next program, “Best of Hip-Hop on Strings,” at 6:30 p.m. Friday at First Presbyterian Church of West Palm Beach, 301 S. Olive Ave., and 10 p.m. Friday at the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, 141 S. County Road, Palm Beach. As its name implies, the performance will be surrounded by immersive candlelight, and will feature Florida’s remarkably eclectic Collins Quartet playing a program that includes hits by Coolio and Cardi B, medleys from 2Pac, Jay-Z, Eminem and more, and even a song by Drake that will segue (of course it will) into Kendrick Lamar’s “Swimming Pool.” Tickets run $53.50-$94.50 and can be purchased here.
The next day, the Hip-Hop Orchestra makes a touring stop at the Miami Beach Bandshell (7275 Collins Ave.), and this is the one you can dance to. Describing the venture as “Part B-Boy, Part Beethoven,” the Hip-Hop Orchestra is the brainchild of husband-and-wife rappers Phantom and Phoenix, who will perform with their Illmatic Orchestra, complete with strings, horns and woodwinds, plus a breakdancer and DJ. Phantom got his start by mashing together the Beastie Boys and Beethoven when he was 13, and he’s still creating similar hybrids today, albeit on a more sophisticated and higher-profile level: The Hip-Hop Orchestra is the third group in its genre to headline Carnegie Hall. Tickets are $35 at miamibeachbandshell.com.
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