Photo Credit: Anna Walters

Derek Ryan Smith is professionally known as Mod Sun, which is an acronym for “Movement on Dreams, Stand under None.” Mod Sun has been in the music industry for years now through his discography, various visuals, and written projects. Derek was born on March 10, 1987 in Bloomington, Minnesota. For the first decade of his life, Derek moved between California and Minnesota. At the age of 13-years-old he started playing the drums. From 2004 to 2009, he was a member of the band Four Letter Lie. Derek held the position as the drummer of the group. For a year afterward, Derek played as the drummer for the band Scary Kids Scaring Kids before they broke up.

On March 10, 2015, Mod Sun released his debut album Look Up. The album has 15-tracks on it with an accompanying audio book that is split into five parts. The audio book, Did I Ever Wake Up? explores positivity and inspiration in the face of hardship. Conceptually it focuses on self-acceptance and self-love. Listeners can feel that sentiment on the tracks, “Headed Home”, “Howlin’ At The Moon”, and “My Favorite Shirt Is My Skin.” Fans also went wild for “Mushrooms” in which he sings about tripping off of the plant. Look Up presents Mod Sun as an inspirational force working through difficult times.

March 10, 2017 saw the release of Mod Sun’s second studio album, Movie. The album also came along with a 15-minute film. Movie brings out concepts of relationships and drug use. Mod Sun collaborated with several artists such as Dej Loaf, Mansionz, and Blackbear. On the streaming platform SoundCloud, Mod Sun has accumulated over two million streams. Mod Sun released another strong single titled “Karma” on October 30^th, 2020. The song acts as an anthem to those that have been wronged by another person. The energy of the track and the vocals captured within the song represent much of Mod Sun’s thoughts on life. With so many singles released in 2020, Mod Sun is gearing up to make a bigger impact musically.

With hundreds of thousands of listeners, Mod Sun is gearing up to release even more eventful musical projects. The messages within many of his songs reflect on the positive side of life while emphasizing the coping mechanisms used in the process. The self-proclaimed “hippy hop” artist isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Mod Sun is the drummer that emo and hip-hop married. With hot collaborations that blend the line of genres and emotions, Mod Sun’s music revitalizes the energy that he is seeking to express. The young artist has captured the ears and hearts of listeners across the globe.

Written by: Carlton Rolle