Derrick P. Turns Life Into Sound on the Cinematic Hip-Hop "Project St. Mary’s Suite"

Atlanta producer Derrick P. continues to push instrumental hip-hop into new territory with his latest project, St. Mary’s Suite, a genre-blending release that merges boom-bap drums, orchestral strings, lo-fi textures, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms.

Known for crafting atmospheric hip-hop that feels equally suited for headphones or the screen, Derrick has spent more than two decades developing a sound that crosses between music and visual storytelling. His work has included composing and supervising music for television projects like Dying to Be Famous: The Ryan Singleton Mystery and executive producing the reality series Made For This, giving his production style a distinctly cinematic edge.

St. Mary’s Suite reflects that approach. Each track explores a different emotional and cultural influence, from the lo-fi mood of “Headspace” to the Afrobeat energy of “Tam Tam” and the Spanish-Caribbean tones of “Loca Luna.” One of the project’s standout moments, “11:45 on Peachtree,” layers upright bass and violin over classic boom bap drums, inspired by late-night drives through Atlanta.

Rather than staying confined to one genre, Derrick treats the album like a series of sonic snapshots, moments, places, and emotions translated into sound. “St. Mary’s Suite is based in hip-hop but not limited to it,” he says. “It’s soulfully orchestral, Afro-Caribbean, lo-fi, and for anyone who loves soundtrack music.”

The result is a project that sits somewhere between instrumental hip-hop and cinematic scoring, offering a soundtrack for late nights, deep thoughts, and city reflections.

St. Mary’s Suite blends hip-hop, orchestral sounds, and Afro-Caribbean influences. What inspired the direction of this project?

All those elements are from the music I love to listen to. As simple as it sounds, I make the music I love without regard to genre. That is reflected not only in St. Mary’s Suite but also in all my projects that I create for myself, as well as collaborations with other artists. 

The track “11:45 on Peachtree” is tied to a specific place in Atlanta. How often do real-life locations influence your music?

Very often. When I’m not working on a TV project, I tend to “score” moments or memories from my own life. On my 3^rd project “People Ruin Beautiful Things”, I have a song titled “Miami Midnight” that plays the feel I had while shooting a music video in Miami 15 years ago. On that same project, I have a song called “Sunsets in Durban” that was influenced by the evenings I experienced being young and hanging out in Durban, South Africa, one December while on break in college. Likewise, “11:45 on Peachtree” is from a memory riding downtown Atlanta past the FOX theater, thinking how cool it would be to perform hip hop music with a live orchestra in that building.

You’ve worked in both music production and television scoring. How has composing for visual media shaped your sound?

For me I believe it happened the other way. I was always accused of having a sound that felt cinematic, even when artists that I produced didn’t understand it. I think it was a natural step for me to end up scoring films and TV shows. In the past, I would attempt to mask it. Time has allowed me to embrace it as my “sound”. It is my signature now. 

Your music moves across multiple genres rather than staying in one lane. Is that something you’ve always leaned into creatively?

It is. I was always a fan of music of all genres from Classical to Reggae and everything in between. Obviously, Hip Hop and Orchestral, as I love strings. As an artist, my goal was to always make what I like, and eventually, I would find an audience that would accept and support that. 

After more than 20 years of making music, what continues to inspire you to create new instrumental projects?

I believe I found new life in the ability to just put out what I love. I don’t have to wait for an artist, although I collaborate and produce for a few on their projects. The magic is in the creative process. I love to create it, let it go, and repeat. The end goal is that hopefully it connects, but the beauty of it is living in the journey.