- Miri Ben-Ari
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Miri Ben-Ari 
Background information Birth name Miri Ben-Ari Also known as The Hip Hop Violinist Born December 4, 1971
Tel Aviv, IsraelOrigin Ramat Gan, Israel Genres Hip hop, R&B, jazz, classical Years active 1999–present Labels Universal SDR Associated acts Wyclef Jean, Jay Z, Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Tarkan, Subliminal, Damon Dash Website [1], [2] Miri Ben-Ari (Hebrew: מירי בן-ארי) (born December 4, 1971 in Tel Aviv,[1] Israel) is an Israeli violinist, who currently resides in the United States.
Ben-Ari grew up playing classical music;[2] she started training at age 5[3] and at age 12, she was presented with a violin by Isaac Stern.[4] During her mandatory Israeli military service, she was chosen to play for the Israeli Army String Quartet.[5] During her stint in the Israeli military, she heard an album by Charlie Parker and immediately fell in love with jazz; she later said "My soul was sold."[6] Following her service, she moved from Israel to New York in 1993[7] in hopes of using her classical training on stage[2] and attended Mannes College of Music, but was expelled after two semesters due to poor attendance caused by Ben-Ari playing gigs to pay the rent.[4][6]
She released her first solo CD Sahara in 1999.
Her persistence earned her an appearance on BET's 106 & Park; the viewer response netted her a return visit a few weeks later. Her performances caught the eye of Jay-Z, who invited her to play as one of the headliners of New York radio station Hot 97's annual Summer Jam concert in 2001, where she netted a standing ovation.[4][5] Around the same time, a mutual friend introduced Ben-Ari to Wyclef Jean, who invited her to perform with him at his Carnegie Hall show, the first by a hip-hop artist at the venue.[8]
In 2003, she released her second CD Temple of Beautiful, and followed that up with a live CD the following year entitled Live at the Blue Note.
She won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song in 2005 as one of the co-writers of Kanye West's Jesus Walks.[9] In 2005, she released her fourth CD and first to focus on hip-hop style, entitled The Hip-Hop Violinist. As part of the promotion for it, she was part of Reebok's "I Am What I Am" global advertising campaign; Reebok was also part of the video for the first single from the CD, "We Gonna Win".[10]
In 2009, she release Symphony of Brotherhood, an instrumental track featuring Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech. It became the first instrumental single ever to hit Billboard R&B/hip-hop charts, where it reached number 2.[3][11]
Ben-Ari was invited to the White House by Michelle Obama in March 2011 as part of a Women's History Month celebration,[3] and she has been invited to perform at the 2011 Miss Universe China pageant.[1]
In 2006, she co-founded Gedenk (Yiddish for "remember"), an organization dedicated to promoting education about the Holocaust in the United States.[3][12]
In 2011, she was named by Ynet as one of the 10 most influential Israelis in America.[13]
Contents
Discography
Albums
- 1999: Sahara
- 2003: Temple of Beautiful
- 2004: Live at the Blue Note
- 2005: The Hip-Hop Violinist
- 2008: The Hip-Hop Violinist II
Singles
Year Single Chart positions Album U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. R&B Singles Sales U.S. Singles Sales 2005 "Run This City" (Clinton Sparks feat. P. Diddy & Miri Ben-Ari) — 107 — — The Pulling Strings Mixtape "Sunshine to the Rain" (feat. Scarface and Anthony Hamilton) — — — — The Hip-Hop Violinist "We Gonna Win" (feat. Styles P) — — — — 2006 "Symphony of Brotherhood" — 77 2 15 — Featured on
Ben-Ari at the Apollo Theater for the 60th anniversary of Israel
- Aventura - José (K.O.B. Live) 2007
- Akon - Miss Melody (Trouble) 2004 and (The Hip-Hop Violinist) 2005
- Wyclef Jean Feat. M.O.P. - Masquerade (Masquerade) 2002
- Alicia Keys - Fallin' (Songs in A Minor) 2001
- Twista - Overnight Celebrity (Kamikaze) 2004
- Kanye West - We Don't Care, Graduation Day, Jesus Walks, The New Workout Plan, Breathe In Breathe Out, Two Words (The College Dropout) 2004
- Kanye West - Late (bonus track) (Late Registration) 2005
- Brandy - Talk About Our Love (Afrodisiac) 2004
- Brandy, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Eve, Ashanti, Wyclef Jean, Monica, Jadakiss, Musiq, Fabolous, Akon, Jamie Foxx, Babyface - Wake Up Everybody (Wake Up Everybody) 2004
- DJ Logic - "Soul Kissing" (The Anomaly) 2001
- John Legend - Live It Up (Get Lifted) 2004
- Janet Jackson - I Want You (Damita Jo) 2004
- Lil' Mo - Yeah Yeah Yeah (Syndicated: The Lil' Mo Hour) 2006
- Santi Debriano - ( Circle Chant (album) ) 1999
- Santi Debriano - ( Artistic License (album) ) 2001
- Subliminal - Klassit ve'Parsi (Classy & Persian) (Bediuk Kshe'Chashavtem She'Hakol Nigmar (Just When You Thought It Was All Over)) 2006
- Don Omar - Intro - Predica (King Of Kings) 2006
- Deemi - Soundtrack of My Life 2007
- Tarkan - Who's Gonna Love You Now? (Come Closer (re-release) ) (2008)
- Thalía - ¿A quién le importa?
- Styles P - We Gonna Win
- Zion & Lennox feat. Fatman Scoop & Pitbull - ¿Dónde Están las Mamis? (Yo Voy)/Jump & Spread Out [Remix] (Motivando A La Yal: Special Edition/The Hip-Hop Violinist)
- Erykah Badu - My Life
- T-Pain - Kings
- Savage Feat. Akon - Moonshine
- Wu-Tang Clan - Reunited
- Consequence - Waiting On You
Miscellaneous, unreleased and remixes
- Maroon 5 - "This Love (remix)"
- Britney Spears - "Me Against the Music (remix)"
- Consequence - Waiting on you
References
- ^ a b Cohen, Eva (2011 [last update]). "Israeli makes history: Ben-Ari will play at Miss Universe China.". jewishindependent.ca. http://jewishindependent.ca/cover/index.html. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
- ^ a b Reid, Shaheem (2004-03-01). "Violinist Miri Ben-Ari Enlists Mya, Fabolous, Kanye West For Hip-Hop Debut". mtv.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1485394/hiphop-violinist-enlists-mya-fabolous.jhtml. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
- ^ a b c d Leichman, Abigail Klein (2011-06-28). "Miri Ben-Ari: Hip-hop violinist and humanitarian". israel21c.org. http://www.israel21c.org/201106289181/people/miri-ben-ari-hip-hop-violinist-and-humanitarian. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
- ^ a b c Khazzoom, Loolwa (2005-09-23). "Kanye West Violinist Miri Ben-Ari Debuts". rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/kanye-west-violinist-miri-ben-ari-debuts-20050923. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
- ^ a b Grapham, Renee (2005-10-02). "Violinist has the hip-hop world on a string". The Boston Globe (Boston: NYTC). ISSN 0743-1791. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2005/10/02/violinist_has_the_hip_hop_world_on_a_string/. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
- ^ a b Rogovoy, Seth (2000-11-03). "Miri Ben-Ari". berkshireweb.com. http://www.berkshireweb.com/rogovoy/thebeat/beat001103.html. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
- ^ Sommer, Allison Kaplan (2011-04-15). "Hip-Hop Violinist Miri Ben-Ari: A Role Model for Our Daughters". Jewish Daily Forward. http://blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/137089/. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
- ^ Gonshor, Adam (2004-04-22). "Violin is the Voice of Miri Ben-Ari | andPOP.com". andpop.com. http://www.andpop.com/2004/04/22/violin-is-the-voice-of-miri-ben-ari/. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
- ^ "Rap News Network - Hip-Hop News: Hip Hop Violinist Wins Grammy". rapnews.net. http://www.rapnews.net/0-202-260005-00.html. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
- ^ "Reebok and Hip-Hop Violinist Miri Ben-Ari Make Beautiful Music Together with First-of-its Kind Partnership" (Press release). Reebok. 2005-08-25. http://www.netweed.com/hiphoppress/2005/08/reebok-and-hip-hop-violinist-miri-ben.html. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
- ^ Faber, Judy (2009-02-11). "Hip-Hop Violinist Trusts Her Audience". CBS News. New York: CBS. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/10/entertainment/main1884749.shtml. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
- ^ Perez, Daniel (2011-04-01). "Yad Vashim Young Leadership Hosts Gala in Support of Holocaust Awareness" (PDF). The Jewish Voice: p. 17. http://www.jewishvoiceny.com/archives/20110401-JewishVoice.pdf. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
- ^ "ynet 100 הישראלים המובילים באמריקה - ידיעות אמריקה" (in Hebrew). ynet.co.il. 2011-07-18. http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4095964,00.html. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
External links
- MiriBen-Ari.com - Official Site
- Miri Ben-Ari on Myspace
- MTV artist profile
- The DJ Booth: Miri Ben-Ari Interview (May '07)
Categories:- 1971 births
- Israeli hip hop musicians
- Israeli Jews
- Israeli violinists
- Grammy Award winners
- Jewish hip hop
- Living people
- People from Tel Aviv
- Hip hop violinists
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