With music in his blood, Derrick picked up a pair of drumsticks at the age of 9 and began taking drum lessons in school. In the fall of 1991, he joined the Spirit of Newark Drum and Bugle Corps as a charter member and spent time playing bass drum, tenor drum and snare drum until 1997. He returned as a conductor in 2000 for his age out year. Derrick took his talents to Harrison, NJ to join The Bushwackers in 1998 as a snare drummer and performed here until 2006. He was a part of the Youth Education in the Arts (YEA) Millennium All Star Marching Band in 1997 which was seen on national television. Derrick spent time teaching many percussion programs in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania including the 2 time TIA Gold Medalist and 1 Time Silver Medalist Rapidfire Indoor Percussion.
Away from the Bushwackers, Derrick is a working actor. He has been in movies Man On A Ledge, Chess Boxing, Where Hearts Lie, C Street and TV shows Deceived and Brain Games.