We had the good fortune of connecting with Brianna Knight and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brianna, what do you attribute your success to?
Community. Every opportunity I’ve received was because of someone referring me and encouraging me. I make sure every room I’m in I open myself up to genuinely connecting with people and asking “How can I help you?” I’m always willing to encourage or refer resources to people I support because I know when they have the chance they’ll do it for me and 9 times out of 10, it’s happened. I make sure I connect everyone so that if I can’t offer help, they can get it from others. That’s how our favorites like Doja Cat were able to blow up, off of being there for other people. I also say encouragement because without people cheering me on during my low moments I don’t think I’d be able to make content. I’ve had random videos resurface and help me land a gig or a huge collaboration. Without people telling me “Just post it” I doubt any of music would be released to the public.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m most proud of recently performing for Breaking Sounds. I say this because 4 years ago I had an event where I had to sell 30 tickets and could barely sell 5. It crushed me and I felt discouraged. 4 years later, I saw the fruits of me networking and growing my community. I filled up the venue with almost 40 people from my hometown, from internships, jobs and other musicians I connected with. I performed for 20 minutes and although it was probably one of my shorter sets, people truly connected with me. They wanted more from me and it was the best feeling in the world. I got to this point by just performing whenever I could (and felt mentally up to doing), and just making friends. I’d show up to peoples performances, share the content and just say hello when I could and every door that could open, was laid out in front of me just because of extending my kindness. It wasn’t easy as sometimes people can take advantage and I struggled with that at first. I struggled with people needing to see you prove yourself and as soon as I stopped approaching professional relationships like that, everything became more natural. I wasn’t forcing myself to create like a robot or talk to someone just because they know or do xyz, it’s liberating. I want the world to know that I create and speak from a “im healing” point of view. I don’t care to impress people, if you connect with me you do and if you don’t I hope you can be encouraged by my words or my energy. The point of my art is to give stories that represent different people and their lives both the hood and bad.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’d take them to my niche museums such as the Museum of Sex & Museum of Ice Cream. We definitely would visit the BarCade, I love retro vide games and pinball machines! I’d also take them to Hisaes, an all day happy hour and Van Leeuwen for it’s vegan icecream. We’d also visit the Brooklyn Cat Cafe which is adorable and calming. I’d say the best spots I’ve been to have been from curators that change locations all the time. If they came on a first Saturday I’d take them to a Taste of Sounds event which showcases R&B/Neo-Soul Artists. I have visual artists friends who always have exhibits so we’d probably go to that. I’d also take them to one of the roller skating nyc events which is always a fun time.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d have to first name my music teachers Mr.Perez and Mrs.Tirro. When I was in elementary school my school district would argue over budget cuts and one of the things that was always on the line was music so my teachers made sure to pour into their students as much as possible. They’d work with me one on one to refine my technique for singing and helped me build my confidence and habits I have now. They worked with me for 4+ years so I could craft my identity in music and how I wanted to represent myself. I’d also have to shout out Urban Lyrics, it was a Spoken Word collective at Suny New Paltz. I was able to craft my lyricism, my performance skills and truly grow into my artistry. It was the perfect space to collaborate and explore artistically.

Website: Www.briannaknight.net

Instagram: https://instagram.com/poetdreaming?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Twitter: https://twitter.com/poetdreaming/with_replies?lang=bg

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCvJUVOUE6nJeWL2TD8YwdfA

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@poetdreaming?lang=en

Image Credits
First photos: @jadamberhartley Photo where I’m wearing orange: @Blu.ism

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