Rapper Brother Marquis, who was part of the iconic rap group 2 Live Crew, has died at age 58.
The New York native’s death was announced by the group on social media. He died on Monday.
“Mark Ross AKA ’ Brother Marquis of the 2 Live crew has went to the upper room,” the group wrote on Instagram alongside an image of him.
The caption has since been updated to, “Mark Ross AKA Brother Marquis of the 2 Live crew has passed away.”
A cause of death has not been revealed at this time.
The group’s manager confirmed the news to TMZ. Sources have told the outlet there is no foul play suspected.
Rapper Uncle Luke, the group’s frontman, paid tribute to his former co-member on social media.
“My Condolence goes out to the Family of Brother Marquis and so many of his Fans from around the World after learning his passing,” the rapper, whose real name is Luther Campbell, wrote on X.
“We took on so many fights for the culture (and) made Great music together something I would never forget. We had recently got back together to take on another fight to get back our catalog that was stolen from us. We will continue that fight in his name for his Family.”
“The Brother Marquis that I know would want us to celebrate his life (and) that’s exactly what I’m gonna do. R.I.P My Brother,” added Campbell, who is currently gearing up to run for Congress to rep his home state of Florida.
Born in Rochester, Brother Marquis — real name Mark D. Ross — joined the Miami hip-hop group at the age of 19 in 1986.
The group released their debut album, “The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are,” that same year.
Rapper Fresh Ice Kid, whose real name was Chris Wong Won, died in 2017. He was also a co-member of the iconic rap group.
Marquis was one of 2 Live Crew’s most notable members, alongside rappers Uncle Luke, Fresh Kid Ice, and Mr. Mixx.
The rappers soon earned their stripes as the hip-hop legends, whose 1989 album “As Nasty As They Wanna Be” was the center of a landmark obscenity case.
“As Nasty As They Wanna Be” — an album on which the leadoff track, “Me So Horny,” sampled lurid come-ons spoken by a Vietnamese prostitute in Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 war flick “Full Metal Jacket — was declared legally obscene in 1990 by South Florida federal judge Jose Gonzalez, Jr.
The ruling threatened to find music sellers criminally liable for distributing the album and muzzle artists with explicit lyrics.
The Gonzalez ruling was overturned two years later by the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit — and 2 Live Crew members were acquitted in a separate trial after being arrested for performing some of the album’s songs in concert.
The controversy surrounding the album led to the group’s 1990 chart-topping song “Banned in the U.S.A.,” which featured bars on the initial court decision, their subsequent arrest and a full-throated defense of “freedom of expression.”
The group is currently locked in a legal battle with Lil Joe Records over music rights and ownership.
Laura Davis is an entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to Broadway, she offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
