Hip Hop Meets Violin

Brothers Tourie, 21, and Damien, 19, Escobar are making unique music through their group Nuttin’ But Stringz while also giving back to the community where they have their roots in.
The two, who play the violin, grew up in Jamaica and still live in the borough. Both have been classically trained at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City but remain heavily influenced by the hip-hop music they grew up with. In forming Nuttin’ But Stringz (NBS), they have brought those two different worlds of music together.
“It’s like a perfect match between hip-hop and classical music,” said Tourie, explaining that creating such a sound wasn’t something they set out to do but rather it just happened.
Damien added, “There’s no specific genre for our music.”
NBS started gaining more attention in 2005 when they won a talent contest at the Apollo and began making television appearances on shows such as “The Tonight Show,” “Ellen DeGeneres,” “Late Late Show” and “The Today Show.” On May 5, the duo will release their debut CD, entitled “Struggle from the Subway to the Charts.”
“We feel like we’ve arrived now with our recording coming out,” Damien said.
The group has performed throughout the United States and Canada. They will also be doing an upcoming tour in Europe and Japan. During a performance in Dallas, the brothers sold out a 10,000 seat arena.
The brothers remain active in their community, with Damien still frequently going to the Jamaica YMCA where he spent a great deal of time as a child, saying that they gave him a place to go as a child. Nuttin’ But Stringz, which performed last year at York College, is active with the charity YMCA Strong Kids, which assists by giving money for summer camps, scholarships and other programming. The group is also involved with the Save the Music Foundation.
“Once you get somewhere, you can’t forget where you started,” said Damien. “You have to give back.”
For Damien and Tourie, the most rewarding part of giving back to the community is when they get e-mails from children say that the duo has inspired them. They also like to see kids who originally had no plan in life grow older and develop direction.
“Our message is mainly stay true to yourself,” Damien said of the music NBS creates.
Along with music and being involved with charitable organizations, Nuttin’ But Stringz is working on a book deal about their lives and will also be coming out with their own sneaker line. Being that they own their own record company, Damien said that they also want to give other artists a chance and help promote those making music that is different from what is currently out there.
Although the Queens brothers, who extended their thanks to those who have continually supported them, do many different things, they said that “creating music and the artistry of performing” remain their favorite thing. They also said that they enjoy making something out of nothing in regards to their music.
For more information on Nuttin’ But Stringz, visit www.nuttinbutstringz.com or www.myspace.com/nuttinbutstringzmusic.com. To find out more about YMCA Strong Kids, go to www.ymcastrongkids.org.