Derek Drummond at MSA by Nathan Best for Yearbook Annual 2016

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Get Lit features Derek Drummond at MSA NYC photographed by Nathan Best for Yearbook Annual 2016. Derek’s interview is also below in full!

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Interview by Nathan Best

How’s it going Derek! Welcome to Yearbook. It’s coolto have the chance to sit down and talk to you after our shoot!
No doubt Nathan! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be apart of something so dope.

First up, how old are you and where are you from?
I’m 20 years old, I was born in South Carolina and moved to New Jersey when I was 6 months old.. Recently moved to Brooklyn with my Dad to pursue music and modeling.

How does New Jersey compare with New York?
They really don’t compare. I’m from the Jersey Shore it’s full of slummy beach towns but beautiful scenery. It’s a lot slower out there also and there really isn’t much to offer for a young creative. So New York really was the best move for me to be able to surround myself with people that think like me and all the opportunities out here are just great.

Have you been modeling long? And how does it feel to be a young male model living in New York?
I’ve been signed to a major agency MSA for 3 months but my mother agency Claude Model Management discovered me on Instagram a year ago and that’s really when I got started. Being a male model in New York is cool i like doing shoots and I also like how I get to meet people that are about their business and can help me grow in the industry.

Besides being a model, I understandyou are also a Rap artist! Tell us a bit about your passion for music and how you got into it. Since I was a boy hip hop always grabbed my attention I also was always into writing poetry when I was young so eventually, I just started writing to beats. I was 17 when I dropped my first song to the public and everyone seemed to enjoy it so I just kept it going .. Writing music is how I vent it’s therapeutic to me.. I’ve never been thirsty for fame the only reason why fame could benefit me is because I’ll be able to influence people in a good way but on a greater scale.. I eventually linked up with Asap Fergs manager Geno Sims and he’s been mentoring me since I was about 18 or 19 so I’m just working hard and being patient.

What about your night life? Can you describe for us what it’s like to hang out with you for a night?
I’m chill I’ll roll a couple up and just talk about life.. I don’t really go to clubs like that to be honest but I love going to underground hip hop shows or other types of music shows just to go rage and mosh out.. Moshing is always fun.

Whose music should we be listening to right now? Aside from yours of course?
XXXPLICIT.. I’m apart of a rap collective and there is too other artists in my group that are just raw and dope as fuck! But besides them people deff need to check out Sha Hef, Retchy P, Da$h, and old Kendrick Lamar like 2010 Kendrick haha.

Where can we find your music?
Type Derek Drummond on YouTube or search up XXXPLICITSOUNDS on soundcloud.

What would you consider the best thing about modeling? How about the worst, if there is one?
The best thing for me about modeling is building a name for myself and a following so more light will be shed on my music.. Plus the free clothes are always great. The worst is getting your hopes up and things don’t turn out exactly the way you expect.

What did you enjoy the most about ourshoot?
It was professional and very chill.. it was also cool to come out to Philly and get my first “Philly” cheesesteak!