Mark D Ross, the rapper known by stage name Brother Marquis who was part of the group 2 Live Crew, has died aged 58 according to the group’s social media accounts. No cause of death has been given.
Born in New York, Ross befriended the group’s DJ Mr Mixx when living in California and then joined the Miami-based outfit in 1986. He was present for their biggest hits including 1989’s platinum-selling album As Nasty As They Wanna Be.
Employing the high-tempo, hard-hitting subgenre of Miami bass, the group earned notoriety for their sexually explicit lyrics and song titles. As Nasty As They Wanna Be was deemed obscene by a court in Florida and became the first album in US history to be banned on those grounds, though it was later overturned on appeal.
Ross was also charged along with his bandmates for misdemeanour obscenity charges for performing songs from the album, though a jury found them not guilty. Ross later said he “wasn’t comfortable with all the profanity that we were putting into the music, but when you see the reaction in the community and everyone’s loving it, you know, you kind of go with it”.
The group overcame another legal hurdle after the release of their version of Roy Orbison’s Oh, Pretty Woman, when they were accused of copyright infringement. In 1994 they won the case on appeal, with a judge setting a legal precedent by arguing that a parody version of a song was essentially a new artistic work.
1990’s Banned in the USA was the first album to feature a Parental Advisory sticker, and became their highest-charting release at No 21 in the US. Ross left the group after their sixth album Sports Weekend: As Nasty as They Wanna Be Part II, but partially reformed the group without member Luke Skyywalker in 1995. Ross and Fresh Kid Ice later re-formed as a duo and released new tracks in 2010.
Ross spoke with pride in 2021 about how the group overcame censorship, saying “It’s a great feeling because no one can take away from me what we did. I can take it to the grave that we made a difference.”
Ross also coined one of the most celebrated lines in hip-hop: “I got 99 problems but a bitch ain’t one”, used in the 2 Live Crew track Table Dance. It was later used in tracks entitled 99 Problems by Ice-T – which Ross guested on – as well as Jay-Z.
