Community Highlights: Meet Bryan Little of Twisted Lidz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryan Little.

Hi Bryan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born on February 20th, 1990, in Frankfurt, Germany. Once arriving in the states, I grew up in Chattanooga, TN, where we lived with my grandmother for a short period. Around my father military background, adjusting to new environments and new faces was typical growing up. My background in music began early, singing in the church at the early age of four, where we lived in Aberdeen, Maryland. In those years, I vividly remember the car rides back and forth to Baltimore, with my mom singing to the sounds of Jazz, Mary J. Blige, D’Angelo, Tyrese, and Dru Hill. A couple of years after my brother was born, we moved to Augusta, GA, where the music continued to be present in my life. While growing up in the church, my dad played the bass guitar for the churches where we attended, as my mom and I continued singing in the choir. My parents divorced in 2001, moving us back to Chattanooga, where I finished my years of school.

As a result of their split, I soon discovered poetry as an outlet for my emotions and creativity. My growing love for music and poetry eventually translated into writing songs with friends. I fell deeper in love with music from early inspirations from artists such as Musiq Soulchild, Usher, Andre 3000, Boyz II Men, Notorious B.I.G, and Eminem, to name a few.

My first official recording was a freestyle of the instrumental “Dear Summer” with long-standing friend Chris P, a member of “The House” collective that includes rappers Isaiah Rashad and YGTUT. From top to bottom, my friends and I recorded in almost every space known of our house. My love of music and craft continued to grow as I taught myself how to record, engineer, and write songs for others. Collabbing with the Hip-Hop and R&B trio, Tru-Movement is where I found the stage name, Amaz’n.

I always felt that honing my ear for music brings the best out of an artist and an engineer, as I am both. After high school, my first mixtape, “Now or Never”, was released in 2010. At my release, I pressed over 500 copies and passed them out throughout campus, where I attended MTSU.

Following that project, releasing singles and small visuals until finishing my next digital project titled, Can You Feel This? A continuation in the versatility of flows but over sounds of R&B, Hip-Hop, Pop, and Reggae.

During the summer of that release, I performed as a special guest at a talent showcase in Chattanooga, where a panel of judges from Sony attended. I left the event heading to dinner with my family when I received a call requesting me to return to the venue. I briefly spoke with their judges, received compliments on my look and sound, and exchanged contact information. As I remained in contact over the next two years, I continued to go through artist development and working while still going to college. During rebranding my artist package, I changed my artist name to Poe’t (po-aye), to reflect where it all started, but in giving it an original, smooth twist.

While traveling to various studios for recording, I had the pleasure of working with Dallas talent, Kassy Levels, and Grammy Award-winning mix engineer, Ariel Borujow from New York. In 2014, my good friend, Christ Mirr, who managed artists, presented me with the opportunity to perform at Center Stage NYC 2 in New York at Santos Party House.

As part of its mixtape release and showcase, I submitted a 90’s/modern melodic, Brian McKnight-inspired ballad titled, ”I Can Be.” DJ Envy, a long-time host of The Breakfast Club, was a co-host for the evening aside from DJ Cadillac Jack. As a result, being the only southern artist & R&B feature on a mainly Hip-Hop mixtape, I received a write-up from New York’s own Heed Magazine, as an R&B standout from the event.

Fast forwarding, last performing at the NMAAM in February 2022, alongside Music City rapper Quez Cantrell at the event PatPoems by poet, author, and speaker, Patrick Walker-Reese.

Outside the moments in music, fashion & modeling have grown in my repertoire of passions and marketability. I had the opportunity to participate in many freelance modeling opportunities with brands or selected by businesses in their male model search. I am now a brand ambassador for the societal black-owned company, Live Above.

Founders Adrian Winston and Darin Wyly are alumni of Tennessee State University, located in Nashville, TN. The brand has been seen worn on ESPN, mentioned in the New York Times, and continues to gain a large following through its success from the support of the Nashville Scene and across the United States. Famously known for its slogan, “Everything you do should be LEGENDARY.”

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
My story hasn’t exactly resembled a hard-knock life but it hasn’t been the most straightforward journey either. I look up to stories such as Nipsey Hussle because similarly, he went through every emotion for what he loved. I remember being in college and coming home to work for the summer. When I and my two roommates got back to school at our apartment, we discovered that the front door appeared to look as if someone had been inside. Sure enough, our apartment had been broken into. Out of the many things taken, my room received the most damage. I lost clothes, shoes, electronics, and other valuables. Luckily, I kept my studio mobile with me at all times. In my loss, I was reminded that material things can always be replaced but life can’t. Furthermore, I still have a story to tell and a gift to share. Moreover, I believe my greatest struggle has been with mental health over the years. I had noticed patterns of anxiety and depression as early as high school and struggled with suicidal thoughts.

Throughout my journey, I can remember many days lacking motivation, unexplainable mood changes, and some deep, dark days that I’ve had to pull myself out of. Seeking therapy in college helped tremendously and I encourage anyone struggling with the same to seek it. As a result of my struggle, I had to take a breather from music because I was lacking the element of fun with it and my writer’s block was heavy. Despite my lifestyle with traveling and experiences that I can name, I just couldn’t find the words in the space that I once was. Being away from my core support took a toll as I felt alone with many of my problems or even ideas. The promises that I’ve made to others but myself more importantly keep me hungry and ambitious because I refuse to die without fulfilling what I’ve started.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Lastly, in addition to music & fashion, I am 1/4 co-owner of a hat business called Twisted Lidz Co. based in Nashville, TN. A passion for hats is how we got started in 2020. A love for hats no matter the day, hour, and outfit, you can find the four of us in a hat. With that passion, we: Rodney, Bryan, Rodrick & Nuby, decided to turn that passion into a hustle, a movement, and a brand. That is how Twisted Lidz was born. We wanted to take the typical hats you find out in your everyday life and put a peculiar twist on them. We offer a variety of hats for kids, women, and men of all ages. Twisted Lidz Hat Co-brand offers Dad caps, Trucker hats, snapbacks, and Bucket hats. We soon wish to expand from fedoras to wide-brim hats, later venturing into apparel. Collectively, we know that everyone does not wear hats, but we strive to make everyone feel included.

They say, “less is always more, but we say a hat is so much greater” and we want everyone to look their best with Twisted Lidz. You can find us on Instagram @wealltwisted and our website is wealltwisted.com

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I believe Covid-19 showed us all how blessed we are, how good we’ve got it, and how much we need people. We’ve been spoiled as a people so when we experienced the shutdown period, it made us miss our freedom and the ability to socialize normally. I just hope that people take their health and others’ more seriously. Lastly, I hope that people find more appreciation in the things that are here today, that can be gone tomorrow.

Contact Info:

• Website: wealltwisted.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialpoeaye/?hl=en
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/PoeAye
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/poetinu

Image Credits
Dre Shipp Erika Robinson (Jordan) Adam Fraust Andre Robinson