Derek Pope has travelled both the long and short road. Growing up in Oakland, Derek learned to produce beats in high school, spending his nights and weekends crafting the early roots of a sound he couldn't define yet for years. After moving to Los Angeles, it wasn't until 2015 that Pope experimented with singing, and after a few demos proved that he would be creating his own lane.
Pope turned those demos into his debut EP, Sunken City Redux, taking off with the hit singles "Raincoats" and "Serena Williams". That evolution continued with his self-analyzing follow-up EP The Introverted Socialite, before Pope found solid ground on We're All Strangers, and finally cemented his status as a genre-breaking artist with songs like "Us and Them" and "Some Other Way" from the album Epochs. His 2021 album Miracle Mile reflected on being quarantined and forced into a world of his own, and the 2022 EP, Lord Forgive Me, proved he continues to evolve to new heights.
With the recent release of his new album For I Have Sinned, Pope has solidified himself as a generational artist, continuing his true quest: helping people battle their demons. As someone who has struggled with depression, anxiety, and addiction, Pope writes from a place of honest admission, flaunting his faults like they were diamonds and cars. It's a message of self-love without being too mushy, revelations with the hope of reminding people how strong they can be. And with diverse collaborations ranging from Larry June to Rebecca & Fiona to Berner, it's a message that won't be boxed in.