Mod Sun

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

He has released five solo studio albums, three EPs, and six mixtapes.

He is also a member of the alternative hip hop duo Hotel Motel.

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.

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.

Smith's father lived next door to Bud Gaugh, drummer of Sublime, who influenced him to become involved in music.

In his teens, Smith began attending concerts in his local pop punk 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 and Drive-Thru Records emo bands, leading to them becoming members of the scene subculture.

In eighth grade, he designed merchandise for bands.

Smith's first band was the pop punk band Sideline Heroes.

He then began playing drums for local pop punk 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 post-hardcore band Four Letter Lie.

Beginning his musical career by playing drums in pop punk band the Semester and post-hardcore groups Four Letter Lie and Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Smith began a solo rap 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.

His fifth studio album God Save the Teen, released in 2023, followed in its footsteps.

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 Scary Kids Scaring Kids.

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.

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.

It peaked at #1 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.

On March 10, 2017, his second studio album, Movie, 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".

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.

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 channel and was directed by Charlie Zwick.

The album's third single, "Flames", was a collaboration with Avril Lavigne.

On January 18, 2021, Downfalls High, 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, Megan Fox and Becky G.