Derrick L. McFadden is a 30 year-old African American. He writes under the pen name DMecca7. He is happily married with no kids. He was born and raised in Thomasville, North Carolina. He left in 1991 to join the military and has traveled to quite a few places while serving in the US Air Force as a Supply management specialist. He just got out of the military last year and is now residing in Cheyenne, Wyoming ("yes there are Black folk in Wyoming") working as a Requisitioning clerk on F.E. Warren AFB as a civilian.

He says "I first started writing poetry after I got married. I would write love poems and such for my lovely wife. Not until recently have I started writing poetry on different subjects. Poetry is a stress reliever and a new found hobby for me." He enjoys traveling, music (Hip-Hop, R&B/ Neo soul, Reggae and Jazz), and reading anything that promotes enlightenment and "that opens my mind to a new way of thinking."