RICHMOND, Va. β Richmond native Brandon Holloman-Lovee has turned personal pain into poetic purpose, and now his spoken word artistry has earned him a spot on a Grammy Award-winning album.
Known by his stage name B Lovee, Holloman-Lovee credits poetry with literally saving his life during one of his darkest periods.
"Really saved my life, especially like when my parents got divorced," Holloman-Lovee said. "You're filled with anger, you're filled with emotions. You need to find a creative outlet to put these emotions in. So I started picking up my pen."
For more than a decade, the father and husband has channeled his experiences into powerful verses, using his vulnerability to heal both himself and his audiences. His dedication to the craft has opened doors he never imagined possible.
"It allowed me to, you know, share the stories of the time in a creative way and be in places where the stories need to be heard more than ever," Holloman-Lovee said. "It's put me in rooms I thought I would never be in."
That commitment to honing his skills eventually led to a collaboration with Richmond hip-hop legend Mad Skillz, who reached out to work with local poets.
"Put the call. I was like, 'Yo, I'm looking to work with some poets. Like, let's get in the lab. Let's get in the studio,'" Holloman-Lovee said.
The partnership resulted in B Lovee being featured alongside several other Virginia spoken word artists on Mad Skillz's Grammy Award-winning album "Words for Days Volume 1." When inspiration struck for his contribution, Holloman-Lovee couldn't contain his excitement.
"As soon as it came, I pulled over, I pulled over in Wawa's parking lot and I was just like, I can't stop writing," Holloman-Lovee said. "And I sent the voice over to Skillz. He was like, 'Yo, that's it.'"
The collaboration represents a full-circle moment for Holloman-Lovee, who first met Mad Skillz in 2019 during a book signing event.
"I'm sitting in Urban Hang Suite signing books, signing copies of my books off, and I see the one and only Mad Skillz sitting in the cut with his headphones on," Holloman-Lovee said. "I ended up signing a book out to him and writing him a letter."
That initial moment of connection grew into something much larger, with Mad Skillz using his platform to elevate other artists in the Virginia spoken word community.
"Mad Skillz opened the door for an abundance of really dope artists who've been putting in the work for years to get the light and the exposure," Holloman-Lovee said. "It's one thing to achieve something by yourself, but it's another thing to bring people along with you on your achievements."
B Lovee appears on the album's track "Friday's Feels" and says he hopes listeners take away a message of shared humanity from the project.
"We're not alone in this human experience. We all have the same story. Just written in a different way," Holloman-Lovee said.
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