Brother Marquis, rapper of 2 Live Crew and '99 Problems' fame, dies at 57

The musician, whose real name was Mark Ross, was a core member of the controversial hip-hop group that made waves in the late 1980s and '90s.

Brother Marquis, the rapper who rose to fame as a member of the controversial Miami hip-hop group 2 Live Crew, died Monday at 57.

2 Live Crew announced the news on social media, and a representative for the group confirmed Marquis' death to Entertainment Weekly but had no further details to offer. A cause of death for the musician, whose real name was Mark Ross, was not immediately available, nor was a location.

Fellow 2 Live Crew member Luther "Luke" Campbell wrote on social media, "My Condolence goes out to the Family of Brother Marquis and so many of his Fans from around the World after learning his passing."

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He added, "We took on so many fights for the culture made Great music together something I would never forget .We had recently got back together to take on another fight to get back our catalog that was stolen from us. We will continue that fight in his name for his Family. The Brother Marquis, that I know would want us to celebrate his life that’s exactly what I’m gonna do. R.I.P My Brother."

Born in Rochester, N.Y., Ross moved to California as a teenager and formed the duo Caution Crew with Rodney-O in 1983. After releasing multiple singles with the Caution Crew, Ross gained notoriety in Riverside for his rap battle talents, catching the attention of DJ Mr. Mixx, who invited him to join 2 Live Crew in Miami alongside existing member Fresh Kid Ice and manager-slash-hype-man Luke, then known as Luke Skyywalker.

2 Live Crew gained both acclaim and infamy for the sexually explicit lyrics on their 1986 debut album, The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are, and rose to greater popularity and controversy with 1988's Move Somethin' and 1989's As Nasty as They Wanna Be. That third album proved to be the group's best-selling project, and was also the first album to be declared legally obscene — a ruling that made it illegal to sell the record at retailers in South Florida until its overturing two years later.

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In the early 1990s, the group released Banned in the U.S.A. and Sports Weekend: As Nasty as They Wanna Be, Pt. 2. Uncleared samples, lyrical vulgarity, and Skyywalker's stage name made the group legal enemies of Van Halen, Florida Governor Bob Martinez, and George Lucas, though they also found allies in Bruce Springsteen and Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Ross had left the group by 1994, though he rejoined for the song "Hoochie Mama," for the Friday soundtrack — an album that ultimately reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts. Ross, Mr. Mixx, and Fresh Kid Ice reunited for 1996's Shake a Lil' Somethin', and Ross and Fresh Kid Ice teamed up for the group's final album, 1998's The Real One.

Ross also pursued a number of additional projects beyond 2 Live Crew. In 1993, he formed 2 Nasty with DJ Toomp, which released the album Indecent Exposure. He also featured on the song "99 Problems," on Ice-T's Home Invasion. Ice-T credits Ross with penning the lyric "I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one," which was further popularized by Jay-Z's 2003 hit of the same title.

Ross released the solo album Bottom Boi Style Vol. 1 in 2003, and reunited with his 2 Live Crew collaborators at various points throughout the 2000s and 2010s, releasing a handful of singles and performing live together. In 2014, Ross appeared in the music video for Flo Rida's "G.D.F.R."

Ross is survived by his daughter.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.