Rapper Brother Marquis, who was part of Miami hip-hop group 2 Live Crew in the ’80s and was featured on Ice-T’s song “99 Problems,” has passed away.
He was 58, according to TMZ, which first reported the news. A manager for 2 Live Crew confirmed Brother Marquis’ death in an email to USA TODAY on Monday.
The group said in an Instagram post that he had “went upstairs to his room.” The cause of death was not immediately clear.
Uncle Luke (aka Luther Campbell) of 2 Live Crew paid tribute to Brother Marquis on social media. Write on X“We learned of Brother Marquis’ passing and send our condolences to his family and his many fans around the world.
“We fought many battles for the culture and made great music together – memories we will never forget. We recently reunited to begin a new battle to recover our stolen catalogue. We will continue to fight for his family and in his name.”
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The group is currently in a legal battle with Lil Joe Records over ownership of the work.
She added, “The Brother Marquis I know would want us to celebrate his life and that is exactly what I intend to do. Rest in peace my brother.”
Brother Marquis (real name Mark Ross) was one of the most famous members of 2 Live Crew, along with Uncle Luke, Fresh Kid Ice and Mr. Mix, who joined in 2017, the year founding member Fresh Kid Ice (real name Chris Wong Wong) passed away at the age of 53.
In a 2022 interview with VladTV, Brother Marquis reminisced about the heyday of 2 Live Crew.
“The show was great. I had a lot of fun. I looked forward to doing the show because I felt happy being around Luke and what he was doing. Doing the show was an escape for me,” he said.
“I loved doing the show. The show was amazing. It was the best time of my life. It was a highlight. Just getting on stage and playing those songs that were so popular at the time was awesome.”
Brother Marquis and 2 Live Crew take fair use challenge to the Supreme Court
2 Live Crew’s 1989 song “Me So Horny” was not only a commercial hit, it also changed the legal landscape.
In 1990, a federal court declared the album As Nasty As They Wanna Be the first legally obscene album, making it illegal for retailers in the South Florida area to sell the album, but the decision was overturned two years later.
The clean version of the album, “As Clean as They Wanna Be,” features the song “Pretty Woman,” which took the group to the U.S. Supreme Court in an oft-cited copyright case.
Although 2 Live Crew did not license the song for Roy Orbison’s 1964 ballad “Oh, Pretty Woman,” they recorded and released a parody.
The case ended up in court after the song’s publisher sued the group for copyright infringement, and in the 1994 case of Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., the Supreme Court sided with 2 Live Crew and ruled that “Pretty Woman” constituted fair use.
The hip-hop group’s controversial fourth album, “Banned in the USA,” became the first rap album to carry a black-and-white “Parental Warning: Explicit Content” label.
Contributor: Maeve McDermott
