Brother Marquis, an integral member of the influential but controversial rap group 2 Live Crew, has died aged 57. Although no cause of death has been officially confirmed, TMZ states natural causes.
Born Mark Ross, Brother Marquis joined the 2 Live Crew in 1986—two years after the late Fresh Kid Ice and DJ Mr Mixx relocated from Riverside, California to Miami to link up with local promoter Luke Skyywalker. Already pioneering the Miami Bass sound with songs like “Throw the D,” Brother Marquis added his comedic play to the mix and appeared on the group's 1986 debut album 2 Live Crew is who we are with the album's intro being the first song he recorded with the group.
Brother Marquis also appeared on some of the group's biggest and most controversial songs such as “Me So Horny”, “Pop That P—y” and “Banned in the USA”
DJ Mr. Mixx (David Hobbs), Fresh Kid Ice (Chris Wong Won), Brother Marquis (Mark Ross), Luke Skyywalker (Luther Campbell) of the rap group “2 Live Crew” pose for a portrait on January 30, 1989.
Michael Ochs/Getty Images files
After the group broke up in the early '90s, Brother Marquis went on to form a group with Atlanta's DJ Toomp, releasing the album. Indecent Exposure in 1993. He was also featured on the original version of Ice-T's “99 Problems,” the remake of which became a huge hit in 2004 thanks to Jay-Z.
Brother Marquis reunited with Mr. Mixx and Fresh Kid Ice over the years, released music and toured as 2 Live Crew. Sadly, Fresh Kid Ice passed away in 2017, a year after leaving the group for good. Mr. Mixx and Brother Marquis released the Christmas rap song “One Horse Sleigh” during the 2016 holiday season as The 2 Live Crew.
