Derek Cobb is always staying busy, continuously sourcing, and researching ideas to expand and feed his creativity. His independence and vision of how others perceive his art is strictly managed on his own accord. Derek is an artist that genuinely owns his craft. Newly married, Derek has traded the hustle of New York to start a new leg of his career in the entertainment capital (of the world), Los Angeles, California. Taking notes of inspiration from the chapters of his own life, Derek carefully constructs meaningful sounds that offer authentic connections with his listeners.
As we recently heard on his new release, "Don't Stop (F*ck It Up)," collaboration with fellow artists and friends propelled the creation to a higher platform for Derek. Creating a community of artistic resources has been pivotal for Derek's development as an artist. He views musical collaboration as a fun way to sharpen each other's talents and push each other's creativity. Derek's ability to further his artistic vision and skills has shown growth and valor in his sound as we are continuously shown these newly developed talents on every new release we hear from Derek. We cannot wait to see what the future brings from Derek Cobb.
Discover "Don't Stop (F*ck It Up)" here.
Welcome back to BuzzMusic Derrick! We're excited to be featuring your newest single, "Don't Stop (F*ck It Up)." Your approach to rapping on this track is something we haven't heard from you before. Can you tell us more about how this song developed for you?
Thank you so much! This song means so much to me and it developed in such a natural way. Me and my friends (the featured artist) were just sitting in the studio and our plan was to get turned up and head to the club. The producer (Ebonie Smith) was pulled up the track and asked us what we thought about it. I began to freestyle and then the next thing I know the original plans got changed. We started to write and work on what would be “Don’t Stop (F*ck It Up)” and our focus has shifted. We all took out a pen and paper and began to write our verses. We wanted to keep it old school and we wanted to keep it real Hip-Hop. At the same time, I wanted to make sure that we were having fun and wanted to keep it super up-tempo.
You feature two of your incredibly talented friends on this track. Can you describe to us the dynamic you had between your collaborators in terms of how you approached pushing each other to dig deeper for this single?
Sure! Beauty Bellaa and I had worked together in the past so she and I had already worked together and we were even signed on the same Indie label (TE Music) at one point so we were very familiar with each other’s musical styles. Rue Zalez and I meet in the dance community in New York City so when I found that he was a rapper I literally said to him that we must work together. When we got together for this record, we just encouraged each other to be true to our styles. We supported each other and rooted for each other and that was our way of digging deep for this single. When you ask an artist to collaborate you must let them be themselves that is the only way it is going to work.
Surely it's taken some time to develop your own unique sounds and character. In this time, what has been one of the most important milestones for your creative inspiration?
Some of my milestones are more personal than professional. Like getting married, overcoming homelessness and moving to Los Angeles. Those are the things that inspire me to keep going and those experiences sharpen my character and they made me very fearless. Professionally things like working with a Grammy Award-winning producer (From Atlantic Records) Ebonie Smith, becoming a member of the Recording Academy, being taken seriously as an artist, so things like that are huge millstones for me. It lets me know that I am headed in the right direction and it pushes me to keep at it.
Thank you for being here and talking with us! We're really eager to hear about anything new coming down the line from you. Can we expect any more exciting collaborations in the future?
OH, HELL YEAH! There will definitely be more collaborations in future projects. Collaborating is so awesome. I believe. that steel sharpens steel so working with other great talents pushes you in great ways. And above all that is so fun to work with others. I really do enjoy it.
What's something you've been doing to stay inspired during quarantine?
I have been doing a lot of reading and a lot of studying. I have been reading lots of self-help books and I have been studying lots of music history. Just trying to keep my mind running and creativity intact.