We recently had the chance to connect with Derick Johnson and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Derick, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
Recently, I’ve released new music! It’s been about 2 years since I’ve dropped anything, so the feeling of showcasing my skills is amazing in many ways. If you’re an artist of any sort, you understand the anxiety of “putting yourself out there.” Society is very opinionated so of course you want to put out your best work, but it’s all about what your heart desires, truly. This would be the most proud I’ve been for myself in a while.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Derick, aka D.Staycoolin! My artist name was adopted back in high school. I’ve always been a cool/chill dude, hence the name! D = (first letter of my name), Coolin = I’m always Coolin/Chillin. Music runs in my family, everyone either sings or raps. My dad is a big Hip Hop fan, which he passed the torch down to me with my music skills. I produce, write, rap, and mix & master music. One unique aspect about my music, I like to cross genres. For example, I’ll mix Hip Hop drums with pop melodies or maybe a Blues melody with Neo-soul drums. Not a lot of producers do that. My main mission/focus is to make music that doesn’t sound the same. I’m not your average dude, we are not the same.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
Before I got into producing music, I wanted to be a rapper. I would always tell my dad’ “Dad, how can I go big? I want to be a big rapper.” I started a rap group in 5th grade named, Youngg Swagg. At the time, we only had one song called, Youngg Swagg. Smart name right? In the group was Me & my friend TJ, the song featured my sister, TK. We recorded the song in my living room, and it played rent free in my household. Never released, only family members knew about it. Fast forward to 6th grade, I added 2 more friends to my group. In total, it was Me, TJ, Eddie, DaQuan. We recorded a song called Turnt Up, featuring TK again, These 2 moments made me feel powerful, I knew I had “something”, a gift. I introduced other people to music. Eddie had never wrote lyrics, recorded a song before. Along with DaQuan, & they both loved every part of it.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
In the music world, you have moments where you feel you don’t have any creative “juice” in you. Which would be called in my case, Writers/Producer block. I took 2 years off of making/releasing any music, to lighten it up I called it an hiatus. In reality, I was discouraged. I didn’t feel creative, I didn’t want to release music, that anxiety that I’ve stated before came back, and musically it just wasn’t a good time for me. With many conversations with my loved ones, I eventually was able to break out of that feeling.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
Unfortunately, the music and entertainment industry doesn’t have a good reputation. Especially, with everything that’s reported in on social media with Hollywood. This hinders the success and feeling of getting our message out to the world. Were looked at as “another rapper”, or “another producer”. In most cases, we have a dream and just want to be heard. For me, I want to collaborate with musicians all around the world, and make some dope music!
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
Definitely what I was born to do. All the guys in my family were born to do music, I’m convinced.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/d.staycoolin
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCmASudZHmyfQz7mixDl270A?si=37Xk4nM0-9QZLrgO
- Other: Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/d-staycoolin/1500680066
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3ozL7Z5zuaE7hgleKZKUS8?si=k555YtAHS2K1gggC3BYxiQ
Image Credits
Myself
