RESPECT Interview: Derek Minor Talks ‘Reflection,’ Violence in America + More

Derek Minor is no stranger to making amazing music and using his lyrics to speak truth. The artist recently released his sixth studio album, Reflection, and it was exactly what we all needed during the current state of America. Now, two months after the album’s release it is still very relatable and a testament that music is much needed during these tough times.

RESPECT. sat down with Derek to discuss the album, violence in America and more. Read the interview below!

RESPECT.: How does it feel to be releasing your sixth studio album?

If i’m being honest, I feel like a brand new artist. Everytime I drop new album, I feel like a new artist all over again because I’m always looking to stretch myself, always looking to grow my craft. So if you listen to every last one of my albums, they all have a different spin to them. I feel like I’ve become a better artist, better lyricist, better at everything. With this album, I feel like a brand new artist who has something to prove. So, it’s really kinda cool to do this. I also feel a little humble to be able to put out six albums and to be able to travel across the country and to do well on charts. I mean, every album, I do better on the charts. It’s really humbling. I don’t take it for granted. A lot of people want to do this, but don’t have the opportunity to.

RESPECT.: Tell us about ‘Reflection’ and the process of making the album?

The process of making the album was really unique in the sense that out of all of my albums, I shouldered most of the load of production on this album. And, I wrote more. I didn’t have any rap features at all. Every verse was from my perspective. The reason I did that is because it’s a personal album to me. The whole idea is reflecting God and reflecting his greatness and the value of people. At times, I know, Kanye said, ‘We’re all self conscious, I’m the first to admit it.’ I’ll say I’m the second to admit it. I definitely wanted this album to reflect my struggles and for people to connect with that and to have the motivation, just content wise. I put my all into it.

RESPECT.: How is ‘Reflection’ different from your last album?

The way I built my last album, Empire, was almost like an epic movie. I had this vision of a big kingdom or empire in the middle of the middle east. And this album is less avant garde but more personal and intimate. It’s not as grandiose. It connects more on the heart level and that’s what I definitely want to do with people. I want people to have an album where if they are wrestling with insecurities, they can put this album on and vibe to it. I think we really accomplished that.

RESPECT.: You do an amazing job at being honest about tough topics. What are you thoughts about the state of the United States and the violence that constantly takes place?

I could talk forever about this. My opinion is it sucks. I hate that. But I hate that at the same time, in every problem, there’s always opportunity for greatness, and I feel as though what I hope is that during these tumultuous times that what people will do is look internally and say, We have to do something about that. As Michael Jackson said, ‘I’m starting with the man in the mirror.’ In these issues we are not looking at the man in the mirror and saying What can I do to make our country better or to make my family better myself? I think if we start there we can see some improvement. I see tons of opportunity today. I’m saddened, but I see opportunity.

RESPECT.: How do you feel your music makes a difference?

I know my music makes a difference in the sense that in today’s world, often times, music has been so negative in the sense of putting other people down to make yourself look big. I’d like to take the route of what Jesus did. Jesus made himself small to encourage others. If we believe in the gospel of Jesus and God coming down to earth for me what I want to do is to look at other people and say Do you even know who you are as a person of greatness in you? Rather than me saying, Yeah I’m this and that and rather tell you who you are. I think my music lifts people up in a way that makes others want to lift others up, and I want it to have an impact on the heart and soul level.

RESPECT.: What do you want fans to get from your songs and lyrics?

I think every artist when they write a song, when it’s all said and done, they want people to listen to the music and they want people to connect with it. They want people to feel their music and that’s what I want people to get from my lyrics. I want them to feel it and say, ‘This is real. This is deep. This is authentic.’ That’s what I want people to get from the music when it’s all said and done.

RESPECT.: You have been in the industry for quite some time now. How has it and music evolved?

If you look at the stats, people are listening to music more than they have in a long time. They’re listening to it more everyday. What has happened is it has made us artists become less of rappers and artists and more content curators which is really cool because for someone like myself, I have a diverse pallet. I love pop music. I love gospel. I love rap. I love classical. And you hear that in my music. So what it allows me to do is not be limited to saying I have to have this one huge album that breaks all the charts in the world. I literally can give people bits of what I love and give back to them on a level that’s diverse for me. I love this industry. I think we’re probably going to see more of the most creative music we’ve ever seen because the huge first week album sales is pretty much over. So people can be free to experiment and have fun and just make music that rather than trying to make stuff to break the charts when it drops. I think that’ cool.

RESPECT.: What type of music do you listen to?

One of my favorite songwriters is Ryan Tedder. I think he’s an amazing songwriter. I love pop music. I’m a huge fan of hip hop though. I make it and I love the new artists that are coming out. I know a lot of times they get a bad rap because people will say the quality is not the same, but I think the beautiful thing about art is it evolves. I think rather than becoming critical, often times, I just want to take it in and see where the value is in it. I tend to see a lot of creativity in a lot of young artists and some of the artists who have been the mainstays of hip hop for a while now. I love everything.

RESPECT.: How does it feel to be performing ‘Reflection’ live?

It’s crazy. People connect with the music live at a level that I’ve never seen with any of my music. I think it’s because the album is talking to them where they are at. When we get to the live show, people are like, ‘Man, this is my song.’ They connect with it on a crazy level. It really is fun to perform.

RESPECT.: Lastly, what does respect mean to you?

Respect means valuing everyone for what their unique gifts are and that’s what I love about RESPECT. mag. They’re not just like, We’re only covering certain types of artists. RESPECT. mag is like, We cover what we live. We cover what’s good. That’s what respect is, valuing people’s unique gifts and talents.