Brother Marquis of the 2 Live Crew died suddenly on Monday (June 3) and now his cause of death has been revealed. The rapper, who was born Mark D. Ross, died of a massive heart attack, according to TMZ Hip Hop. He was 58.
His cause of death was determined by Dantez Robinson, the Chief Deputy Coroner at Etowah County Coroner's Office in Ala., who said it was natural causes, per the outlet.
The 2 Live Crew rose to fame out of Miami in the mid-'80s with a raunchy brand of rap with such songs as "We Want Some Pussy" and "Throw the 'D.'" The content of the group's songs garnered attention, sales and legal hassles with record store clerks charged with selling the allegedly obscene material to minors. Cases in Florida and Alabama, in 1987 and 1988, eventually saw a record store clerk and store owner acquitted.
The controversy only led to 2 Live Crew upping the ante, releasing an album titled As Nasty as They Wanna Be in 1989 and doing battle with a group known as the American Family Association and Broward County, Fla. Sheriff Nick Navarro. The controversy led to the arrest of more record retailers and even members of the 2 Live Crew after they performed material from their new album at a nightclub in Hollywood, Fla.
Brother Marquis and Fresh Kid Ice left the group in the mid-'90s, releasing the track "Hoochie Mama," which was included on the chart-topping soundtrack to the movie Friday.
By 1996, Brother Marquis rejoined the 2 Live Crew, but by that time the group's popularity had dwindled with their album Shake a Lil' Somethin' stalling at No. 145 on the Billboard 200. In 2006, the group reunited once again to tour, release some material and attempt to regain control of their back catalog.
In a 2018 radio interview that was also shot on video, Brother Marquis revealed that he'd become a born-again Christian, but he still had no problem rapping raunchy rhymes on 2 Live Crew records and live shows.
Among those paying tribute to Brother Marquis was 2 Live Crew founder Luke Campbell, who said, "We took on so many fights for the culture [and] made great music together. Something I would never forget... R.I.P. My Brother."
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