Brother Marquis, the rapper of 2 Live Crew fame, has died at 58. The emcee from the controversial group’s passing was announced on 2 Live Crew’s social media accounts along with a photo of him. No details about the cause of death or where he was when he died were revealed in the post. “Mark Ross AKA ” Brother Marquis of the 2 Live crew has passed away,” the group wrote in the caption.
Following the news of his passing, find out more about Brother Marquis here.
Mark Joined 2 Live Crew Right Before Their Debut Album Came Out
Born in Rochester, NY in 1966, Brother Marquis began his rap career alongside Rodney-O as a member of The Caution Crew. He later was discovered by DJ Mr. Mixx, who had co-founded 2 Live Crew. After a member departed the band, Mr. Mixx invited Mark down to Florida to join the group. Some of the band’s singles were already completed when Brother Marquis joined the group, but he was a key contributor to many of their hits, including on the debut album The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are.
He Was Arrested on Obscenity Charges for ‘As Nasty as They Wanna Be’
For those who may not be familiar with 2 Live Crew’s music, it was often marked by sexually explicit, humorous, and using multiple swear words. The group landed in hot water in 1990 regarding their album As Nasty as They Wanna Be. A Florida court had deemed their record “legally obscene,” making it illegal to sell, per The New York Times. Brother Marquis was arrested alongside his band members Wong Won and Luke Skyywalker in 1990 after performing some of the songs at a Florida strip club. Following the arrest, their lawyers defended their use of language in court and ultimately won.
The group referenced the arrest on their next album Banned in the U.S.A., which incorporated a sample of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” on the title track.
He Was Also a Member of the Group 2 Nasty
The 2 Live Crew split up following the release of their 1991 album Sports Weekend. After the split, Mark moved to Georgia, where he began performing stand-up comedy. He also formed the group 2 Nasty with DJ Toomp. He also occasionally made guest appearances on various songs, including Ice-T’s track “99 Problems.”
He Reunited With Wong Won of 2 Live Crew in 2007
Throughout the rest of the 90s, the 2 Live Crew occasionally released albums, but a few years after their 1998 final record The Real One, the group remained dormant. After nearly a decade, Brother Marquis and Wong Won met up in 2006 to discuss their differences, and they eventually reunited under the 2 Live Crew banner once again. Wong Won died at 53 in 2017.
He Was a Born Again Christian
Brother Marquis revealed that he was a born again Christian in a 2018 interview on The Morning Bounce. He revealed he regularly attends church. He promised that it wouldn’t affect his performances and stop him from performing the dirty songs from the group.