Brother Marquis from 2 Live Crew has passed away at the age of 58, according to a post by the group and TMZ.
Mark D. Ross, born in April 1966, spent his early years in Rochester, New York before moving to Los Angeles as a teen. During junior high, he met Rodney-O and they formed Caution Crew, releasing singles like โWestside Storieโ and โRhythm Rock.โ
Fresh Kid Ice started 2 Live Crew with DJ Mr. Mixx and Amazing Vee in Riverside in 1984. After Amazing Vee left, Luke Skyywalker invited them to Miami where he joined as hype man and label owner. They had some songs already when DJ Mr. Mixx noticed Brother Marquis at parties for his humor. At just 19 years old, Brother Marquis joined them in 1986 to work on their debut album 2 Live Crew Is What We Are. The group gained attention with hits like โWe Want Some Pu–y,โ but it was their next albumsโMove Somethinโ, As Nasty as They Wanna Be, and Banned in the U.S.A.โthat made them famous with songs such as โMe So Hornyโ and โBanned in the U.S.A.โ
Their later records were groundbreaking: As Nasty as They Wanna Be was initially declared obscene (later overturned), while Banned in the U.S.A. was the first album with a “Parental Advisory” sticker from RIAA. They faced legal issues over a parody cover of Roy Orbisonโs โOh Pretty Woman,โ leading to a Supreme Court case that ruled commercial parodies fall under fair use doctrine.
I think people often forget how influential music can be.
The journey of Brother Marquis is both inspiring and wild!