2 Live Crew Member Brother Marquis Dead at 58

Brother Marquis, a member of the hip-hop collective 2 Live Crew has died. He was 58.

Brother Marquis, née Mark Ross, was born in 1966 in Rochester, NY. He later moved to California in 1983, where he began The Cautious Crew with rapper Rodney-O before joining the 2 Live Crew after being scouted by Mr. Mixx. The Miami-based group was made up of Uncle Luke, Fresh Kid Ice, Mr. Mixx and Brother Marquis. He was only 19 years old when he made the move to Miami, where he would join one of the most influential groups of the Miami bass subgenre.

"I knew Marquis from parties in Riverside. He would battle people and beat them senseless. I met him in the parking lot of a mall and told him if I ever get a chance, I'm going to bring you in," said Mr. Mixx of Brother Marquis.

Mr. Mixx had high praise for his friend, saying that "He was always naturally funny. Since the stuff was coming off of comedy records, it went hand in hand with him."

Brother Marquis and the 2 Live Crew "boast" a unique honor: releasing the first album to use the RIAA-Parental Advisory warning sticker. Banned in the U.S.A. earned the group a parental warning for its explicit content. Uncle Luke and Fresh Kid Ice were arrested after performing tracks that a U.S. District Judge had declared obscene.

He briefly dabbled in stand-up comedy when the 2 Live Crew dissolved in 1992. He then started the duo 2 Nazty with DJ Toomp. Brother Marquis also released a solo project, Bottom Boi Style Vol. 1, in 2003, but generally stayed away from non-2 Live Crew work. The group partially rekindled in 1996 for the soundtrack of Ice Cube's Friday, and then re-launched again in 2007.

The final album by the original 2 Live Crew was 1998's The Real One. In 2016, Brother Marquis and Mr. Mixx reconnected and toured together after releasing an EP, One Horse Sleigh.

Notably, Marquis was a born-again Christian, but performed the raunchy lyrics of the 2 Live Crew without hesitation.

Brother Marquis is credited with the hook of "99 Problems" by T-Pain. The rapper reportedly said "Man, I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one," to T-Pain, sparking the lyric that Jay-Z would late use in his own track.

Brother Marquis' team has not released any further details concerning his death.

Tags

Obituary, 2 Live Crew