Derek Minor has earned the title of veteran in the game not only as a rapper, but also as a producer. After a decade of making music, the award-winning artist has established himself as a leading voice of hope in the midst of trials.

His latest album, The Trap, is the third installment in the “Up and Away” series, which exemplifies his heart to tell stories that reflect the reality of life in the streets while letting people know there is a light in the midst of struggle. This follows two EPs, “Your Soul Must Fly” and “High Above,” where he encourages listeners to live above their circumstances.

“I want people to know someone’s watching and someone hears your hurts and someone hears your pains,” he shares. “Whether it’s wars that we’re fighting overseas or whether it’s women that are fighting for equality, I want people to know that there’s not just artists that feel like you’re an album sale. But for me as an artist, I want to tell the stories of people that rarely get a voice and rarely get heard. Since people are listening to me for however long they’re listening, I’m not just gonna talk about how good I am, but I’m also gonna talk about how I can lend my platform to help others.”

In 2009, he founded Reflection Music Group with producer and former Syndicated Mix Show host Doc Watson and now has a full-fledged label with five artists and a marketing service, RMG Amplify.

Formerly known as PRo, Derek Minor made his first splash on the scene with Lecrae, partnering with Reach Records to release two albums, Dying to Live and Minorville. The latter marked the first LP under his current moniker and landed at No. 6 on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart and won the GMA Dove Award for Rap/Hip Hop Album of the year. Derek Minor won a Grammy for his production work on Lecrae’s 2012 album, Gravity.

From there, Reflection Music Group housed 2015’s Empire and 2016’s Reflection, which gave him his highest chart position yet, landing at #5 on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart.

Derek Minor resides in Nashville and continues to prosper on his own platform, showing artistry and business savvy like few others.