Derick began working at Columbia records under the president of A&R Gordon
The Commissioner Williams. He met Multi-Platinum Grammy winning singer/actress
Lauryn Hill while she was recording The Fugees LP
The Score. This led to him assisting in the studio during the making of her solo album
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill which garnered ten Grammy nominations at the
41st Grammy Awards, winning five, making Hill the first female recording artist to receive both that number of nominations and awards in one night. Derick progressed on to the position of A&R/Music consultant specializing in production coordination/ Music licensing/Brand Development, Tour bookings/TV and Film music supervision/Music publishing for such artists as
50 Cent,
Dead Prez,
Mos Def,
Talib Kweli,
Jay Electronica, Estelle,
Damian Marley,
Nas,
Q-Tip,
Ghostface Killah:
Theodore Unit,
Lloyd Banks, and
Busta Rhymes,
Amel Larrieux,
Big K.R.I.T.,
Rakim and
George Clinton. He has managed music producers such as Illmind, Black Jeruz, Chad Beats, Supa Dave West, Hi-tek, Jake One, Tha Biznes, securing multiple music placements on such major labels as Island Def Jam's Untitled (Nas), IGA's The Blue Carpet Treatment (Snoop Dogg) and
Koch Records' Hi Teknology 3 (HiTek)
50 Cent Get Rich or Die Tryin (soundtrack).
Rawkus Records, 1998–2002: A&R Consultant As A&R Consultant, Derick was responsible for hiring music producers and engineers for such notable projects as Black Star (Mos Def/Talib Kweli ), Soundbombing II and III and Talib Kweli and Hi Tek's Reflection Eternal. He produced X-ecutioners (Y'all know the name) featuring
Xzibit,
Pharoahe Monch and Inspectah Deck for the Lyricst Lounge and Ecko Unlimited Present:Underground Airplay. In 1999 he also produced the hit song Mister N****, by Mos Def featuring Q Tip (A Tribe Called Quest) on the album
Black on Both Sides.
Interscope Records, 2004–2007: Senior director of A&R He oversaw all elements of album production of 50 Cent and entire G-Unit artist roster, helping the company to sell over 20 million copies worldwide in three years. Responsibilities included song concept development, hiring of mix engineers and studio musicians, album mastering sequencing and delivery of master copies. Managing relationships with key music producers and music composers, background vocalists and studio musicians for all G-Unit projects. He liaised with label and music publishers to approve sample usage and sync licensing. Composed opening scene logo for MTV Films/Get Rich or Die Tryin'. Served as Music supervisor for Vivendi Universal computer game 50 Cent Bulletproof. In addition to his work with G-Unit, Derick also served as LP production coordinator on the prestigious Tupac Shakur tribute albums Pac's Life and 2Pac Evolution.. ==References==