Freshman Orientation Dear Society

Dear Society is a hip-hop duo with a heart to reach the lost and a message of hope and salvation through Jesus Christ. They hail from Sandusky, Ohio and consist of Jarrett Marshall aka Preach and Cory Westgate aka Automatic. The two crossed paths at a local show in the winter of 2010 both performing they’re own sets. Auto was performing solo and Preach performing with his group at the time Freak-shift Dialect. The two talked and exchanged numbers to work together on music. After recording one song together the chemistry was dynamic and shortly after recording more songs they decided to join forces and form Dear Society.

  Auto’s passion for music stemmed from his grandfather Jim who would make him mix-tapes whenever he would stay at his house. Once his grandfather passed away Auto used music as a coping mechanism and started writing and recording songs. As he grew older and got into high school he drifted from his walk with God and indulged in a life full of sin. As a sophomore he was having sex, dealing and using drugs, and making secular music. Shortly after living this lifestyle his parents found 200 dollars and a perscription bottle of methadone pills. The conviction of God and the disappointment of his parents made him give up the drugs and not go back. Although he had giving up the drugs Auto was still not taking his walk with the Lord seriously until a car accident on Christmas day of 2006 opened his eyes. The accident had taking the life of his friend but brought forth revelation of God’s purpose for him. That revelation led him to start taking his walk and ministry in music seriously.

Preach’s love for music came from a dark and painful place. His father was constantly on the road and Preach being the oldest of three boys felt it was necessary to be the man of the house. He was bullied from the time he could remember and by the time he entered junior high he became hateful, fighting anyone and everyone who would pick on him. At home he began to use writing poetry as a way to escape his harsh reality. By high school he was persistently in trouble for fighting and was forced to see a counselor after several fights in one year. His parents were christians who forced him to church despite him feeling like God didnt hear nor care about him because of how he was treated by others. This led him to have low self-esteem and ultimately to not love himself. When his parents who were youth leaders began struggling in their marriage the church had turned their back on them and he lost the only friends he did have. This resulted in Preach being pushed further away from church and into the world. Once he got into college he was drinking, partying, and chasing after woman, but found no joy or peace in that lifestyle. Preach felt God tugging at his heart to give his life back to Christ and focus on his relationship with him instead of other “christians”. He surrendered his life back to Christ and began serving him with the talents he had been blessed with.