After 9 years at Reach Records, Marcus Hollinger is taping his last show of the 116 Life as the Chief Marketing Officer.  And he is sharing his revelations and opening up about his journey; past, present, and future. 

This season is bittersweet.  “This is the longest-standing organized relationship I’ve ever had in my life.  So, it’s a little personal.”  Hollinger admits he got into a lot of trouble growing up.  Even being kicked out of school more than once.  Because his parents were separated and lived in different states, the marketing savant spent a large part of his childhood traveling between the two. 

“I spent a lot of time on Greyhound buses.  A lot of times I didn’t finish the school year at the school I started with.  I had a lot of instability growing up,” says Hollinger.  Music became his saving grace.   “I remember the College Dropout.  That record Last Call by Kanye.  That was the soundtrack to my life.”

Revelations

At that time people close to him were urging him to leave the streets alone.  It was then Hollinger experienced a moment of clarity.  “Everything that the streets could offer was being rolled out in front of me.  Sometimes you can see Satan.  He’ll be behind the scenes but then you’ll see him.  I was like ‘Oh I see what’s going on here.  I’m being set up.’  God revealed it to me.”

We have to acknowledge that the All Mighty is a living God and “still speaks in the real-time through people,” says Harris.  And God is using his people to redeem the culture. 

Hollinger recalls a moment when he was just about 5 or so.  He would go to church with his grandmother and aunt.  One day, he prayed and was overcome.  “I remember this presence that was always with me.  And now that I have consciousness of it, it was the Holy Spirit,” he explains.  “The Lord was with me through all of this.    

Fast forward, and Hollinger is killing the college game.  Academically and socially.  Even so, he felt something was missing.  A friend, recognizing his inner turmoil, put him on to Lecrae and began pouring into the hip-hop head.  “I didn’t know how to live a surrendered life before God.  And I would put on that Rehab album.  Everything started making sense.”

Hollinger gave his life to Christ and by the time he was ready to graduate college, he was being courted by some of the biggest advertising agencies in the game.  “I had this internship in New York.  When out, crushed it.  But it’s just this different flow about me.  I’m a souled-out Christian at this point.”  By the end of the summer, Hollinger was a “first-round draft pick” to get hired. 

Instead of moving to the epicenter of the advertising industry, Hollinger decided to surrender to the call of ministry.  “It hurt.  But God had gave me a vision like that ain’t it.  That’s not gonna fulfill you.”

Meeting Ben Washer and Lecrae

After reading an article by DJ Wade-O, Washer got on Hollinger’s radar.  Somehow, he found out that the ministry he worked with knew Washer and Lecrae professionally.  “We were going on a service trip to Atlanta to work at the Dream Center.  I was like when we go, I want to meet this guy.  Ben Washer.  We sit down and have breakfast.” 

The conversation went so well, they ended up spending the day together at the studio where Hollinger meets Lecrae.  “I’m thinking, cool, now I’m inspired.  I can go back and do ministry with all this energy.  I get a call and they asked if you could go down there with them and we said yes.  So, you need to pack your stuff up and be prepared to go to Atlanta in two weeks.”

And of course, the rest is CHH History!  You can catch The 116 Life every Tuesday at 8 pm est. on Holy Culture Radio, Sirius XM, Channel 154.  Don’t forget to leave a comment and let us know what you thought of the episode.  And follow Holy Culture on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter to join the conversation.