This week we are featuring author and musician, Marlon Marshall Sr. co-owner of Blood Related Entertainment and co-founder of BRAVE458.

He currently lives in Dumfries, VA, but is a Washington DC native. He graduated from Mount Vernon High School and later pursued Film/Digital Programming at the University of Boston. In his free time, he mentors Fairfax County Basketball Youth Leagues, as well as high school basketball for both varsity and JV boys teams in both Fairfax and Prince William County. He’s currently employed at Hylton High School, located in Dale City in Prince William County as an assistant Varsity basketball Coach and Head of JV basketball.

Marshall shares the beginning of his musical journey with us saying initally he was going to be a DJ. He loved music and would sit by the radio crafting slow jam tapes.

“Redman was my favorite artist, Big Daddy Kane, Eric B and Rakim. I just love hip hop. I was the weird dude in the area because everyone here loved Go-Go but I was into hip hop.”

Along with his wife, Lisa Diane Marshall Spring, they founded Blood Related Entertainment in 2014. Blood Related Entertainment produces contemporary Christian hip-hop and rap. Their staff currently has seven MCs, one singer, one DJ, and one engineer/producer. He describes the formation of Blood Related Entertainment as organic and a blessing from God. He stresses that the work they do is more than just music, it’s ministry.

“I met a lot of these artists from different experiences, I’ve known them all my life…Everything came together as the vision God gave me so beautifully.”

This month, he released the album Crossroads. Marshall explains that the name Crossroads was chosen because he feels his life being pulled in a new direction, allowing him to pivot and to speak more.

Marlon and Lisa published Couple Minutes of Your Time back in March 2019 and are working on another entitled Breakdown or Breakthrough where he plans to share the story of his life. “I grew up a knucklehead I was out here doing some crazy things. I’ve been through a lot, I’ve been through kidney transplants, seizures, I had Bells Palsy.” Now he hopes his story will encourage others to break through their own challenges.

In this turbulent and dangerous climate of racial divide, Marshall reached out to his basketball team to offer guidence and to hear their concerns. “With me, it’s a mindset, I talk to them all the time about attitude adjustment. When the George Floyd tragedy first happened, I had a Zoom meeting to ask them about how they felt about it. We talked about how they should handle talking with police.”

Returning to Hylton High School this fall will be difficult Marshall says. Since March, he’s been restricted to using Zoom meetings to check in with his student athletes.

“It’s hard. I can’t be in the school right now due to my health. I have one kidney and I am on immune suppresents. It’s difficult to be in the open environment. It’s even harder since I can’t be around the students. It’s a lot of meetings getting ready for September 8. There’s going to be so many distractions for them so we’re trying to figure out how to get them to do their work.”

Marlon is also a cofounder of a community organization called BRAVE458, which centers on bringing awareness to global homelessness, assisting single parents, and equipping youth spiritually and physically.

In closing, Marshall says he owes all he is to God. He hopes to continue encouraging the youth through God’s word, music, and mentorship.

We hope you continue to support Marlon Marshall Sr. and Blood Related Entertainment’s mission and ministry.

If you would like to learn more about Blood Related Entertainment, click here. For more information about BRAVE458, this mission, or to donate, click here. Lastly, you can follow Blood Related Entertainment on Facebook, here, and buy Lisa and Marlon’s book on amazon, by clicking here.