Kev Choice bites his bottom lip while stroking his long board passionately. His body undulates and his head jolts – preferably to the left hand side. It looks as if he can’t contain himself, alternating his movements from hard to soft, then fast to slow. Any given moment and the guy seems like he just might bust.

But it’s not about a girl.

The 30-year-old musician’s late night affair is with his piano and microphone. The self-titled “Black Beethoven,” Choice is bringing a new tune to the music business. Think Mozart meets Miles Davis and chills with Mos Def along the way. His music embodies the skills of a classically trained pianist and an MC who spits so fast he might leave Twista tongue-tied.

“I was always rapping and I was always playing keys, but I wasn’t always doing it together,” says the freckled face redhead who grew up in Oakland. He describes his music as “soulful hip hop, with a jazz flavor, which still has a knock to it.”

Sounds complicated, but listen and it makes sense. Each genre takes a different approach to the song, bringing many angles to the piece. Anytime you mix the stodgy culture of classical music with the laid back urban attitude of hip hop, you are bound to get something interesting.

“I never heard anything like it before, not live anyway, and not from somebody that is from my town,” says Anthony Weaver, 21, who listens to Choice play at one of his shows. “It was like jazz and hip hop with a message.”

And perhaps the message is the most important part of Choice’s act. In an era when girls and grills are what most rappers talk about, Choice chooses to educate people about black history and address the lack of talent in hip hop these days.

“With his lyrics and what he’s talking about, he’s trying to enlighten these young people. He’s trying to give them something to think about rather than go dumb all the time,” says Geechi Taylor, 28, the trumpet player in Choice’s band who has played with him since junior high school.

Before showcasing his classic marriage of lyric and beat, Choice traveled around the world touring with people like Goapole, LyricsBorn, Too Short, and Talib Kweli.

“The worst part was being away from home and the normalcy of everyday life,” he says. “You are waking up early, eating fast food all of the time, washing your clothes in crazy places, and being on a tour bus for hours and hours.”

After Choice got off the road in 2003, he was ready to do his own thing. He quickly put a band together called Kev Choice and the Maximum.

“We call it ‘the Maximum’ because we try to take music to the max level,” he says. “I grew up in an era when there was a lot more consciousness and creativity going into the music. (Today) the level of musicianship is down. There are bands out there that are dope. But in hip hop, there are not too many. It’s not a musician’s music.”

If there was one word to describe Choice’s behavior it would be animated. Listening to him talk is like watching him perform – he just can’t sit still. But the perpetual motion is what keeps him engaging. There is never a dull moment in his presence.

“Kev is one of the coolest cats,” says Taylor. “His personality comes out in his music. He’s very giving, he has a great sense of humor.”

Choice’s affair with the piano began in the seventh grade. Like any junior high school kid, he was given the chance to take a few electives. While most of the guys opted to play basketball, Choice signed up to learn the piano.

After a year, Choice says he acquired enough skill to be accepted to a young musicians program. There, he was taught how to read music and learned more about music theory. Before he knew it, it was time to take it to the next level: College. He got a music scholarship to Xavier, one of the best historically black colleges in the south.

In the next few years, Choice went on to graduate school at Southern Illinois University, moving from an all-black institution to the only black student in his discipline. As expected, the game got a little more intense, and the practice time was bumped up to eight hours per day.

“I definitely kind of felt that I had a lot to prove. When I performed, they thought ‘this guy’s up here saggin’,’” he says. “My image was nothing like a typical pianist, so people didn’t expect me to sit down and play a Chopin Prelude.”

Was he any different than the other guys who shared his passion? Perhaps. But talent was not the missing common denominator.

“They may have thought I wasn’t serious, because they were strictly classical. I had different interests. I wasn’t completely dedicated to the classical thing because I did jazz and hip hop.”

Choice’s long-term goal is to create the first ever hip hop concerto. Envision it now – two basses, two saxophones, a couple of trumpets, and one pianist slash dope MC.

Other than that one request, Choice’s plans for his future are broad. As long as he’s playin’, producin’, performin’ and rappin’ then he’s content.

“I see Kevin and his talent as so real and so true that it’s undeniable. Eventually, he will get the opportunity he needs to show what he has to the world,” says Taylor. He adds that because Choice will never do that “‘booty music,’ you may not see him on MTV, but you might see him on MTV 2.”

CONTACT JONES AT JJO19@SFSU.EDU