Derek Minor – Blast off!

CCM: So, what’s the theme that ties all of this together?
DM: Recently when I got home from a very successful tour—playing to crowds I’ve only dreamed about—and after a season of my career by what many would call “successful,” I found myself in a very dark place, personally. I didn’t know what was going on, I was like, “I’ve finally achieved a glimmer of the dreams that I had as a kid, why would I be depressed now?” And what I realized was that internally, my heart had lost the vision of why I was doing what I do. I had lost the focus on what true success really is.

CCM: What can we expect from how these projects differ in sound and feel as they progress through the thematic journey?
DM: The texture of the first EP is really tense. It’s like, when you think about an airplane taking off, you’ve got to have a lot of momentum to fly—so, that’s the idea of this first set. The lyrical content is like “me against the world.” And it’s like, when you think about an airplane taking off, you have to get a lot of momentum to fly.

When you get to the second project, it feels like you’re on a cloud. Sonically, it’s very vibey and moody, kind-of like you’re floating. Why? It represents the one of two things that happens in our lives. We achieve our dreams, or we keep striving for them (or give up). For me, I have a Dove Award, but then there’s the expectation of being awarded a second. I have a Gold record, but what about that Platinum album? It’s like no matter how high you go, there’s another height to achieve. Sometimes, the seem so fay away—either way, you’re floating.

That’s where the third EP comes in, The Trap. It feels like trap music, which is often times a really aggressive sound—it’s in your face. So are the traps of our lives. In my journey, it has been the trap of “success” and what people define as real success. Money, vanity, and the chase of it all. It’s a trap, because we know that no matter how much money you get, you’re going to want more. No matter how much success you achieve, you’re going to want more. Power, prestige, it’s all the same. And what winds up happening? The trap. We end up missing what God has intended for us, and ultimately, Him all together.

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