Brother Marquis, a key member of the influential hip-hop group 2 Live Crew, has passed away at the age of 57. The Miami rap group’s manager confirmed that Marquis, whose real name was Mark Ross, died on Monday. No additional details regarding his death have been released.
Marquis joined 2 Live Crew in 1986, becoming part of the group’s most recognized lineup along with Christopher Wong Won (Fresh Kid Ice), Luther Campbell (Luke Skyywalker), and David Hobbs (Mr. Mixx). Together, they released eight albums, starting with “The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are” in 1986 and concluding with “The Real One” in 1998.
2 Live Crew was known for their controversial, sexually explicit lyrics, which sparked significant legal battles. Their third album, “As Nasty as They Wanna Be,” was declared legally obscene in 1990 and was banned from being sold. This led to an obscenity trial for three members of the group, including Brother Marquis, after they performed songs from the album at a nightclub. They were ultimately acquitted, and the ruling against the album was overturned in 1992.
Beyond his work with 2 Live Crew, Brother Marquis formed the duo 2 Nasty, collaborated on Ice-T’s song “99 Problems,” and released a solo project, “Bottom Boi Style Vol. 1.” He also reunited with various members of 2 Live Crew periodically from the mid-2000s onwards.
Brother Marquis’ death follows that of his bandmate Fresh Kid Ice, who passed away in 2017.
