Derek Ryan Smith (born March 10, 1987), known professionally as Mod Sun (stylized as MOD SUN or MODSUN) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and rapper from

Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, on the north bank of the Minnesota River, above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 89,987, ma ...

. He has released four solo studio albums, three EPs, six mixtapes and 31 singles. Beginning his musical career by playing drums in

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

band the Semester and

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

groups

Four Letter Lie Four Letter Lie was an American post-hardcore band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. History The group formed in 2004 and quickly released an EP entitled ''Her Escape'' in May 2005. They followed the release with a heavy tour schedule, which includ ...

and

Scary Kids Scaring Kids Scary Kids Scaring Kids (abbreviated SKSK) is an American post-hardcore band formed in Gilbert, Arizona, United States, in 2002. The band's name was taken from the Cap'n Jazz song of the same name. They released two studio albums ''The City Sle ...

, Smith began a solo

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

career in 2009 under the name Mod Sun. The release of his fourth solo studio album '' Internet Killed the Rockstar'' saw a stylistic shift back to pop punk. He is also a member of the

alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...

duo Hotel Motel. His upcoming fifth studio album ''God Save the Teen'' is set to be released in the first quarter of 2023.

Early life

Derek Ryan Smith was born on March 10, 1987, in Bloomington, Minnesota. Later his father left for California and his parents divorced, after which Smith spent some time living with his father in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. From age five to 10, he moved frequently due to his mother having to relocate for various jobs. He spent much of his time growing up on a farm in

Corcoran, Minnesota Corcoran is a rural city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,379 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. County ...

. Smith's father lived next door to

Bud Gaugh Floyd I. "Bud" Gaugh IV (born October 2, 1967) is an American drummer who played in the bands Sublime (1988–1996), Long Beach Dub Allstars (1997–2002), Eyes Adrift (2002–2003), Volcano (2004), and Sublime with Rome (2009–2011), as well ...

, drummer of Sublime, who influenced him to become involved in music. In his teens, Smith began attending concerts in his local

scene. He became an increasingly prominent figure in the scene through his mother encouraging him to attend concerts and ask the touring band members whether they wanted to stay the night at their house. In the following years, Smith and other local bands and musicians in the scene became increasingly interested in fashion and influenced by

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and

Drive-Thru Records Drive-Thru Records was a California-based independent record label owned by siblings Richard and Stefanie Reines. The label was partially responsible for popularizing the pop-punk/emo merger sound of the early to mid-2000s. After facing financia ...

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

bands, leading to them becoming members of the

scene subculture The scene subculture is a youth subculture that emerged during the early 2000s in the United States from the pre-existing emo subculture. The subculture became popular with adolescents from the mid-2000s to early 2010s. Members of the scene subc ...

. In eighth grade, he designed merchandise for bands.

Music career

2004–2010: Career beginnings

Smith's first band was the

band Sideline Heroes. He then began playing drums for local

band the Semester in his sophomore year of high school. He spent the following four years in the band, before being kicked out three months after his graduation. In 2005, he became a member of the

band

. In 2009, he left the band to pursue his passion in rap and Mod Sun endeavours. He went on to be a drum tech for

. He was eventually asked to be the drummer for Scary Kids Scaring Kids, which he accepted under the condition that he could open for the band on tour as a solo artist.

2011–2019: Solo career and ''Look Up'', ''Movie'' and ''BB''

Mod Sun has released five mixtapes and three EPs throughout his solo career. His style of music has been described as "hippy hop". Mod Sun's debut album, '' Look Up'', was released on March 10, 2015, through

Rostrum Records Rostrum Records is an American independent record label initially located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, now located in Los Angeles, California. Benjy Grinberg is the founder and president of the label, which currently has twelve artists on its ros ...

. It peaked at #1 on the ''Billboard'' Top Heatseekers chart. On March 10, 2017, his second studio album, ''

Movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

'', was released, also through Rostrum Records. It peaked at #16 on the ''Billboard'' Top Heatseekers chart. His third studio album ''BB'' was released on November 10, 2017, and spawned the single "#noshirton".

2020–present: ''Internet Killed the Rockstar'' & ''God Save the Teen''

In early 2020, Mod Sun announced he had started working on his forthcoming fourth studio album. Its lead single "Karma" was released on October 30, 2020. The accompanying music video was released three weeks later on November 16, 2020, and was directed by

Machine Gun Kelly George Kelly Barnes (July 18, 1895 – July 18, 1954), better known by his pseudonym "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster from Memphis, Tennessee, active during the Prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thom ...

. The song "Bones" was released as the album's second single on November 27, 2020. The music video for "Bones" was released on December 21, 2020, via Mod Sun's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel and was directed by Charlie Zwick. The album's third single, "

Flames A flame (from Latin ''flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...

", was a collaboration with

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...

. On January 18, 2021, ''

Downfalls High ''Tickets to My Downfall'' is the fifth studio album by American musician Machine Gun Kelly. A departure from his established rap sound, the album is a more guitar-driven pop-punk album. It was released through Bad Boy Records and Interscope Rec ...

'', a film Smith co-directed with Machine Gun Kelly was released. On 25 January, 2021 Mod Sun officially announced the album title, '' Internet Killed the Rockstar'', and its release date, February 12, 2021. On March 12, 2021, he released the single "Heavy" featuring blackbear. The same month he signed a long-term deal with Big Noise. On August 26, 2021, it was announced that he would star in and co–direct the film ''Good Mourning With A U'', alongside Machine Gun Kelly,

Dove Cameron Dove Olivia Cameron (born Chloe Celeste Hosterman; January 15, 1996) is an American singer and actress. She became famous for her double role of the eponymous characters in the Disney Channel comedy series ''Liv and Maddie'', for which she won ...

Megan Fox Megan Denise Fox (born May 16, 1986) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the family film '' Holiday in the Sun'' (2001), which was followed by numerous supporting roles in film and television, such as the teen musical comedy ...

and

Becky G Rebbeca Marie Gomez (born March 2, 1997), known professionally as Becky G, is an American singer and actress. She first gained recognition in 2011 when she began posting videos of herself covering popular songs online. One of her videos caught t ...

. The film was later retitled to simply ''

Good Mourning ''Good Mourning'' is the fourth studio album by American punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released May 13, 2003 on Vagrant Records. Background and production Towards the end of May 2002, the band recorded their next album; they "decided that wait ...

'', and was released on May 2, 2022. On February 18, 2022, Mod Sun released a documentary about his life entitled ''Remember Me Just Like This'' on his

channel. The documentary included a teaser for his next single "Rich Kids Ruin Everything", which was released on March 11, 2022. On June 10, 2022, he released the single "Perfectly Imperfect". On August 19, 2022, he released the single "Battle Scars". In November 2022, Mod Sun announced the title for his upcoming fifth studio album: ''God Save the Teen''. The album will released in early 2023, though an exact release date is yet to be announced. On December 9, 2022, he released the single "SEXOXO" featuring Charlotte Sands.

Personal life

Beginning in October 2018, Smith was in a polyamorous relationship with internet personality

Tana Mongeau Tana Marie Mongeau ( , born June 24, 1998) is an American Internet personality. She is known to make "storytime" videos and similar content posted to her YouTube channel. Early life Tana Mongeau was born on June 24, 1998, to Rick and Rebecca ...

and actress

Bella Thorne Annabella Avery Thorne (born October 8, 1997) is an American actress, singer, and writer. She first received recognition for her roles as Margaux Darling in the series ''Dirty Sexy Money'' (2007–2008) and as Ruthy Spivey in the drama series ...

. After the throuple's breakup, he began a monogamous relationship with Thorne. Smith and Thorne became engaged, got married and then subsequently divorced, all within 15 months. In early 2020, he began a monogamous relationship with Mongeau, but they broke up by the end of the year. Since 2021, he has been in a relationship with Canadian musician

. They later got engaged in Paris in April 2022.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Mixtapes

*2009: ''I'll Buy Myself'' *2009: ''Let Ya Teeth Show'' *2009: ''How to Make a MOD SUN'' *2011: ''Health, Wealth, Success, & Happiness'' *2011: ''Blazed by the Bell'' *2012: ''First Take''

Singles

Featured singles

*2011: "Good Times" by

swimming with dolphins The popularity of swimming with dolphins increased in the 1980s and 1990s, occurring in over 65 countries, both as a form of therapy as well as a tourist activity. Proponents of dolphin-assisted therapy (DAT) say that interacting with dolphins can ...

*2012: "I Think It's Hot" by Def Gone Graphic *2012: "Catch Me Smilin" by Joe B. *2013: "Right Now" by Goody *2013: "Get Loco" by T.T. *2013: "The Tortoise and the Hare" by The Weekend Hustler *2013: "Let It Bang" by Jbre & Dougie Kent *2014: "All I Need Is Sunshine" by The Gooneez & Sidereal *2014: "Raw Cypher" by

Dizzy Wright La'Reonte Wright (born November 26, 1990), known professionally as Dizzy Wright, is an American rapper and record producer. In December 2011, Wright signed to rapper Hopsin's independent record label, Funk Volume. After signing, he released his ...

, Like, and

Sir Michael Rocks Antoine Reed (born December 24, 1987) is an American rapper better known by his stage name Sir Michael Rocks (or Mikey Rocks). He started his music career in 2005 as a member of the hip hop duo The Cool Kids, and later joined the groups All Cit ...

*2015: "me you & the moon" by

Call Me Karizma Morgan Francis Parriott (born April 28, 1995), known professionally as Call Me Karizma, is an American singer-songwriter and rapper from New Prague, Minnesota. His music tends to be within the hip hop and punk genres. His music career started i ...

*2016: "Sublime" by

*2018: ":)" by LIL PHAG and Dr. Woke *2021: "0X1=Lovesong (I Know I Love You)" by

Tomorrow X Together Tomorrow X Together (, ; Tomorrow by Together, stylized TOMORROW X TOGETHER), commonly known as TXT ( ), is a South Korean boy band formed by Big Hit Entertainment, now known as Big Hit Music. The group consists of five members: Yeonjun, Soobin ...

*2021: "Ocean of Embers" *2021: "Broken in All the Right Places" by

Lost Kings Lost Kings are an American DJ duo consisting of Robert Abisi and Nick Shanholtz, based in Los Angeles. The duo gained popularity beginning in 2014 through their official remixes for artists such as Imagine Dragons, Krewella, Halsey, Vance Joy, ...

*2022: "Timebomb" by Two Friends *2022: "Movie Star" by

Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki (, ; born November 30, 1977), best known as Steve Aoki, is an American DJ, record producer, music programmer, and record executive.

and Global Dan

Books

Non-fiction books

*2012: ''Did I Ever Wake Up?''

Poetry books

*2015: ''My Dear Pink'' *2018: ''So Long Los Angeles''

Journals

*2015: "Happy to Be Here" *2016: "Happy to Be Here Pt. 2" *2019: "Happy to Be Here Pt. 3"

Filmography

Film

Television

Internet

Music videos

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mod Sun 1987 births Living people People from Bloomington, Minnesota American male rappers Rappers from Minnesota Midwest hip hop musicians 21st-century American rappers Scary Kids Scaring Kids members 21st-century American male musicians Pop punk musicians