Mark Ross, Rapper and 2 Live Crew OG Member Who Went by Brother Marquis, Dies at 58
Mark Ross, who went by the stage name Brother Marquis as an OG member of the pioneering and controversial Miami hip-hop group 2 Live Crew, has died, the group announced. He was 58.
Ross’ death was announced Monday on the 2 Live Crew Instagram account. No cause of death was given.
As a teenager, Ross was a rising talent in the 1980s Los Angeles hip-hop scene and joined the Crew before they moved operations to Miami, where they broke out with a flurry of overtly sexual hits like “Me So Horny,” “We Want Some Pussy!” and “Pop That Coochie.”
He was part of the group’s most popular lineup in the late 1980s and 1990s that included Luther Campbell (Luke Skyywalker), Christopher Wong Won (Fresh Kid Ice) and David Hobbs (Mr. Mixx).
Ross was already accepted as a member at the 1986 release of “The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are,” which threw the group into controversy for its overt adult themes. Their records were a direct inspiration for the creation of the RIAA-standard Parental Advisory Warning sticker, and were constantly targeted by parent groups and politicians who wanted their music banned outright.
The strategy worked – as their next four records hit either gold or platinum, including “Move Somethin'” (1988), “As Nasty as They Wanna Be” (1989), “Banned in the U.S.A.” (1990) and “Sports Weekend” (1991).
Ross dabbled in standup comedy and musical side projects in the ensuing years, appearing on Ice-T’s 1993 “99 Problems” track that Jay-Z would famously sample a decade later. He would often be involved in incarnations of 2 Live Crew would come together to perform and tour.
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