MOD SUN is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and rapper who is a favorite in the pop punk and alternative hip hop scene. Standing for “Movement on Dreams, Stand under None”, MOD SUN made his childhood dreams of being a successful musician come true from his upbringing on a farm in Minnesota. Born Derek Ryan Smith in 1987, his father lived next door to the drummer of Sublime, Bud Gaugh, who helped inspire him to pursue music. His mother would also encourage him to attend concerts in his local pop-punk scene, supporting his interests. He got his first instrument, a Fender strat, at age 9 for Christmas. MOD also credits the band HANSON for being instrumental in getting him into music. At just 14 years old Derek began pursuing music seriously, playing in pop-punk and post-hardcore bands Sideline Heroes and The Semester. Sophomore year of high school he joined the band Four Letter Lie as a drummer, the group got signed when he was 18 years old and started touring heavily. Dylan, (His name is Derek but he often goes by Dylan) quickly realized he wanted more fan interaction than what drums allowed him to do. On tour, he started freestyling and this inspired many to tell him he should record some of his own tracks. His always smiling and positive personality makes him an uplifting energy to be around, this is what he would infuse into his own music. Dylan released his first full-length cd, “I’ll Buy Myself”, on January 31st 2009. He fully produced the music himself, writing the songs, making the beats and recording it in his bedroom. “I downloaded some programs, bought a keyboard, bought a mic and started to go at it.” He did it all by himself, hence the homophone title. This got him started on his solo career and led to many more releases of singles, EPs and mixtapes such as The Hippy Hop EP, In Mod We Trust, All Night, Every Night, Happy As Fu*k, 1970 and Howlin’ At The Moon. All these releases led up to Look Up, his first full album release as MOD SUN. Look Up debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts and featured guests Machine Gun Kelly, blackbear, Travis Barker, G-Eazy and more. His lyrics connect with his listeners through his strength in vulnerability telling relatable stories of love, loss, addiction, and chasing your dreams no matter what. 2017 would be a busy year of releases for MOD SUN with the single “Beautiful Problem”, album Movie featuring blackbear, gnash, Rich The Kid and others, and album BB with catchy hit happy anthem “happyBB”. 2020 would see the release of many singles for MOD SUN, including the hit “Stay Away” featuring MGK and Goody Grace, “I Remember Way Too Much”, “Karma”, and “Bones”. MOD SUN would also co-write MGK’s platinum-selling single “Bloody Valentine” which debuted at #1 and won the 2020 VMA for “Best Alternative”. In popular life, MOD SUN is known for being in relationships with Tana Mongaeu and Bella Thorne, both independently and simultaneously. Recently, MOD has been in a relationship with pop punk Princess Avril Lavigne. The two released the single “Flames” together which appeared on his album Internet Killed the Rockstar. 2021 also saw the release of MOD’s single “Down” with Travis Barker. 2022 was a steady stream of singles for MOD, including “Rich Kids Ruin Everything”, “Perfectly Imperfect”, “Battle Scars”, “Movie Star” featuring Steve Aoki and Global Dan, and the most recent “SEXOXO” with Charlotte Sands. MOD SUN uses his music to tell his story with his unique voice in the pop-punk and alternative hip hop/rap medium. He will continue to empower his fans to overcome their struggles and enjoy happiness by sharing the emotional release with them that his music represents.