Brother Marquis, who was part of huge rap group 2 Live Crew, has died at the age of 58.
The group’s account announced that Brother Marquis – also known as Mark D Ross – died on Monday.
‘Mark Ross AKA ” Brother Marquis of the 2 Live crew has passed away,’ they wrote on social media alongside a photo of him.
2LC’s manager confirmed the news to but didn’t give any further details on the cause of death.
Other sources have told the US outlet there is no foul play suspected.
Born in Rochester, New York, Marquis joined the group in 1986 after late rapper Fresh Ice Kid – who died in 2017 – formed it that year.
Later that year, the group released their debut album The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are which featured the controversial song We Want Some P***y.
The album peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Top R&B/hip-hop albums and it was awarded a gold certification by the established Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
The next three albums saw the group garner national fame and their third, 1989’s As Nasty As They Wanna Be, sparked controversy and was declared by a federal district judge Jose Gonzalez to be obscene.
The album was also banned by Gonzalez, who ruled record stores and merchants that fell under his jurisdiction could be fined if they sold it.
The ruling was later overturned, and the rap group’s following album poked fun atit with the name Banned in the USA.
This was the first ever album to include a black and white parental advisory sticker on its cover.
In 1990, David Bowie defended 2 Live Crew, stopping mid-show to declare his support for them.
As reported by , the rock legend told his audience: ‘I’ve been listening to the album by 2 Live Crew.
‘It’s not the best album that’s ever been made, but when I heard they banned it, I went out and bought it.
‘Freedom of thought, freedom of speech – it’s one of the most important things we have.’
By the early 1990s the group had mostly broken up, and Marquis went on to form 2 Nasty and was featured in other records with artists including Ice-T.
Fans and friends from the music industry have taken to social media to pay tribute to Marquis, as bandmate Luke Campbell aka Uncle Luke wrote on X: ‘We took on so many fights for the culture. Made great music together, something I would never forget.’
He continued: ‘We had recently got back together to take on another fight to get back our catalog that was stolen from us. We will continue that fight in his name for his Family.
‘The Brother Marquis that I know would want us to celebrate his life that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.’
Hip-hop editor for iHeartRadio Tony Centeno wrote: ‘Rest in peace to Brother Marquis of 2 Live Crew.
‘A true legend from coast to coast. My condolences go out to his family, friends @unclelukereal1 and Mr. Mixx.’
DJ Spydermann said: ‘Brother Marquis was one of the dopest rappers to ever do it.
‘He shined on other people’s projects when he got a chance to just straight up drop bars outside of the usual 2 Live Crew style lyrics. I’ll always love his verse on 2 Live Is What We Are. Rest Easy.’
