The day after Aaron “AG” Marshall’s AACC classmates graduate on May 25, some of them will join their former classmate’s family and friends at a concert featuring a sampling of the 500 songs he wrote.

The concert will take place on what would have been Marshall’s 21st birthday, a little more than a year after the former student died in a car accident on his way to school.

Marshall’s mother said the May 26 birthday concert will celebrate his music. “He was always in the studio, so there are still songs that people have yet to hear,” said Dr. Alycia Marshall, AACC’s associate vice president of learning and academic affairs.

Marshall said her son had released his mixtapes on the streaming website Spinrilla under the pseudonym “AG.”
Proceeds from the concert will fund the AACC Aaron Gene Marshall (AG) scholarship, Marshall said.

The scholarship awards tuition money to students pursuing careers in the performing arts field because Aaron Marshall was a performing artist.

“He had so many talents,” his mother said. “Prior to [being a rapper] he was a dancer and an actor. I think all of those things actually prepared him to be a well-rounded performer.”
Dr. Lori Perez, chair of AACC’s psychology department, taught the younger Marshall and said music, not academics, was his priority.

“I see those students [in the classroom] who are not sure why they are here,” Perez said. “I really think why he continued to push himself and strive was out of respect for his mom.”

Aman Beckett, a student Aaron Marshall mentored in the Summer Bridge program at AACC, called him “a blessing in disguise,” adding that Marshall stayed connected with him after the program was over. The program helps incoming high school students prepare for the college experience.

“If he was here today, I would honestly just thank him for being himself and giving me a better perspective on how working hard for what you want can make you a better person,” Beckett said.

Cedric Young, a high school friend and member of Marshall’s music group, Starlife, said the young songwriter lives on through his music, with his mixtapes garnering more than 100,000 combined hits on Spinrilla.

“His situation really impacted the whole [area],” Young said. “When he died, we had a candlelight vigil, and a lot of people came out for that, and showed support through Facebook and Twitter.”

For tickets, contact Young at 301-520-8548.