What happened to Brother Marquis? 2 Live Crew member's cause of death revealed

Rapper Mark D. Ross, aka Brother Marquis, passed away aged 58 on June 3, 2024. The Chief Deputy Coroner at Etowah County Coroner's Office revealed the cause of his death, stating that he had a heart attack. The coroner confirmed that it was a natural death, denying the previous claims made by TMZ about foul play in the case or the influence of any drugs.

Brother Marquis gained recognition for his work with the hip-hop group, 2 Live Crew, including Uncle Luke, Fresh Kid Ice, and Mr. Mixx. His death was announced on the Instagram page of the band the same day. Uncle Luke also shared a post where he started by writing:

"My condolence goes out to the family of Brother Marquid and so many of his fans from around the world after learning his passing. We took on so many fights for the culture made great music together something I would never forget."

2 Live Crew released eight albums and was involved in some controversies due to their explicit lyrics. In 2014, Marquis told Miami New Times that he was 14 when he joined the group. He even recalled one of the performances with the band and said:

"My first show that I did for 2 Live Crew was at Miami Youth Fair in 1985. I remember a lot of girls screaming and they were very receptive to us. They loved us."

Social media platforms were flooded with tributes from well-known faces in the world of music, who recalled Mark's flawless work over the years.

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Brother Marquis accumulated a huge fanbase from his work with 2 Live Crew: Albums, controversies, and other details

Brother Marquis spent his early days in Rochester, New York followed by Los Angeles. In 1986, he became a part of 2 Live Crew and they slowly became popular by delivering multiple hits in the 80s and 90s.

The journey started with the first album, The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are, which grabbed a spot on the US Billboard 200. The response was similar to their next project titled Move Somethin'. However, problems emerged with the third album titled As Nasty as They Wanna Be which had explicit content. The court ordered the stores to discontinue its sale and avoid any kind of legal action.

The project, which came out in 1989, also resulted in the arrest of Uncle Luke and Fresh Kid Ice when they performed a few songs inside a nightclub in Florida. ABC News reported that apart from the band members, a record store owner named Charles Freeman was also arrested.

Notably, the project was referred to as obscene in June 1990 by U.S. District Judge Jose Gonzalez. It was the first time that the label was being used for an album. The court's decision was eventually overturned by the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta and the charges related to obscenity were dismissed.

Despite the legal issue, 2 Live Crew continued delivering albums such as Banned in the U.S.A. and Back at Your A*s for the Nine-4. The band eventually disbanded during the 90s with all the members pursuing solo careers.

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Brother Marquis and his solo career

Coming to Brother Marquis, he was featured in a single by Ice-T, 99 Problems. The song was included in the soundtrack of the album, Home Invasion, which received a mixed response. He even appeared in Chain Swangaz's song, Steak & Mash Potatoes.

Marquis also tried his luck as a standup comedian for a brief period and joined DJ Toomp as part of the duo, 2 Nasty. On the other hand, 2 Live Crew continued to perform on a few tours for a long time. Detailed information on Brother Marquis' personal life remains unknown.