Over the past three years, Miri Ben-Ari has carved out a unique niche as the hip-hop violinist for artists including Jay-Z, John Legend, Wyclef Jean, Twista and Kanye West. An iconic name in the Hip-Hop community, Grammy Award Winning Musician, Producer, and Composer Ben Ari will launch her highly anticipated new video and single in the UK September 2006.
Ben-Ari grew up in a small town near Tel-Aviv, Israel, and began her classical music education at a very young age. Coming from humble roots, Ben-Ari's violin lessons became too expensive for her family. Fortunately, legendary violinist Isaac Stern recommended Ben-Ari for a scholarship from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation that gave the young prodigy her most treasured possession -- her first violin.
After establishing herself as an accomplished and respected jazz musician, Ben-Ari's interest evolved to R&B and Hip-Hop and her big break came from her standing ovation performance at the world famous Apollo. Her love for the music led her to develop an original style of playing that blends Hip-Hop, urban and classical music. Ben-Ari has written, performed and produced for Kanye West, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Jay-Z, Patti LaBelle, Mya, Britney Spears, Thalia, Joe, Wyclef Jean, 3LW, Dallas Austin, Rahzal, Allure, Twista, Brandy, Janet Jackson and Jennifer Lopez among others.
Ben-Ari has been hard at work in the studio creating her debut Hip Hop/R&B album, a groundbreaking fusion of her crisp, soulful strings with hard-edged hip-hop production. Kanye West has lent production and rhyming work to several tracks on her album, which also features collaborations with an all-star cast of artists, including Akon, John Legend, Twista, Scarface, Fabolous, Lil' Mo, Mya, Lil' Wayne, Pharoahe Monch and Anthony Hamilton, among others.
?I'm actually producing," Ben-Ari said of her album. "I've been producing for some time. Sometimes I do it from scratch. Sometimes I collaborate with other producers. Sometimes I get a track and flip it. Sometimes I start a track and we develop it. And sometimes I'll hear a track, fall in love with it and do it my way. It all depends?.
Ben-Ari is also the newest face of the Reebok brand's global "I Am What I Am" advertising campaign, Ben-Ari will join contemporary heroes of today's global youth including; Jay-Z, Nelly, 50 Cent, The Streets, Ryan Giggs, to name just a few?.
From Wikipedia:Miri Ben-Ari (Hebrew: ???? ??-????) (born December 4, 1978 in Israel) is an Israeli violinist, who currently resides in the United States.
Miri Ben-Ari, a Grammy Award-winning violinist originally from Israel, has created her own unique sound by a revolutionary fusion of classical style with jazz, R&B and hip hop. She has been recognized as a musical pioneer.
This classically trained musician has helped sell millions of records by collaborating with other Grammy award-winning artists such as Kanye West, Jay Z, Wyclef Jean, Alicia Keys, Wynton Marsalis, Britney Spears, Maroon 5, Patti Labelle, Brandy, Donna Summer, Janet Jackson and John Legend.
She studied under the late classical master Isaac Stern and has earned the honor from New York's Apollo Theater as an ?Apollo Legend?. She is also known as ?The Hip Hop Violinist?, the title of her latest album (Universal Records).
Miri was featured by Reebok in their ?I Am What I Am? global print and TV advertising campaign. She has done commercials for Pepsi, Coca-Cola, a Jimmy Hendrix PSA for BET and has been the voice of VH1 Save The Music, which promotes live music and music education across the US.
She has appeared on Sesame Street, is featured in the live performance album and DVD of Aventura?s ?Sold Out at Madison Square Garden? concert, has performed for Senator Hillary Clinton, at Lincoln Center for ?VH1 Save The music Gala?, and at Radio City Hall's "Fashion Rocks" concert and at its ?Dream Concert?, a dream team program of artists which included Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Fergie, Usher, John Mayer, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Garth Brooks and Santana.
Her single "Symphony of Brotherhood", featuring the Dream speech of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, is the first instrumental single ever to hit on Billboard?s R&B/Hip Hop charts, MTV and VH1.
Miri Ben-Ari was honored as an "International Jewish Women To Watch of 2007?, she received the 2008 Israel Film Festival Visionary Award and she is the first Israeli to receive the Martin Luther King Award from Israeli President, Shimon Peres. She is the CEO and co-founder of ?Gedenk? ("Remember"), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting awareness among young people about the Jewish Holocaust.