Died On This Date (June 3, 2024) Brother Marquis / 2 Live Crew Rapper
themusicsover Brother Marquis (Born Mark D. Ross)
April 4, 1966 – June 3, 2024
As reported by Greg Evans at Deadline, Brother Marquis, the iconic rapper and longtime member of the legendary hip-hop group 2 Live Crew, has passed away – currently of unknown causes – at the age of 58.
2 Live Crew was founded in 1984 in Riverside, California, but it wasn’t until they relocated to Miami and Brother Marquis, born Mark D. Ross, joined in 1986 that the group solidified its most famous lineup. Alongside Christopher Wong Won (Fresh Kid Ice), Luther Campbell (Luke Skyywalker), and David Hobbs (Mr. Mixx), Brother Marquis helped propel the group to new heights. This lineup achieved widespread fame and influence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, reaching a pinnacle with the 1989 album As Nasty as They Wanna Be. The album was both celebrated for its groundbreaking explicit content and heavily criticized, drawing condemnation from commentators and law enforcement.
In 1990, the group faced legal trouble when a Florida undercover police officer attended one of their performances, resulting in misdemeanor obscenity charges against three members, including Brother Marquis. The jury ultimately found them not guilty. Around the same time, a court ruling declared As Nasty as They Wanna Be legally obscene, marking the first instance in U.S. history where an album received such a designation. This ruling was later overturned on appeal.
Ross was born on April 4, 1966, in Rochester, New York. He spent time in both Los Angeles and Miami before joining 2 Live Crew in 1986. His debut with the group was on their album The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are. He also contributed to their subsequent albums, Move Somethin’ (1988), As Nasty As They Wanna Be (1989), Banned in the U.S.A. (1990), and As Nasty as They Wanna Be Part II (1991).
2 Live Crew disbanded in the mid-1990s, but they reunited for tours in the 2000s and finally parted ways following the death of Fresh Kid Ice in 2017. After the group disbanded, Ross continued his musical career, appearing on various records. Notably, he collaborated with Ice-T on the track “99 Problems” from Ice-T’s 1993 album Home Invasion.
What You Should Own
Natalie Cole was an American R&B singer who, over the course of a career that spanned 6 decades, sold over 30 million albums and earned nine Grammys. Born into a show business family – her father was 
Lord Infamous was an American rapper and co-founding member of the popular rap group, Three 6 Mafia who is credited with coining “crunk” to describe the style of southern hip hop they came to exemplify. Formed in 1991, the group built a sizable underground following for their music that some have labeled “horrorcore” due to its darker elements. Lord Infamous’ lyrics in particular, generally revolved around the occult, murder, suicide and Satanism. Three 6 Mafia’s fourth album, 2000’s When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1, reached #6 on the Billboard Top 200 on its way to selling well over a million copies. In 2006, Lord Infamous and Three 6 Mafia parted ways due to a contractual breach with their record label. Lord Infamous went on to form a label, Black Rain Entertainment, with longtime friend, II Tone. The company released numerous albums by Lord Infamous and other hip hop acts from the Memphis area. Earlier in 2013, Lord Infamous with original Three 6 Mafia members, DJ Paul, Crunchy Black, Koopsta Knicca, and Gangsta Boo formed Da Mafia 6ix. They released their first mix tape, 6ix Commandments in November of 2013 while working on a new studio album to be released in 2014. On December 20, 2013, Lord Infamous died at the age of 40. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Lil Snupe was an 18 year old up-and-coming rapper who had recently signed with Meek Mill‘s label, Dream Chaser Records. Born and raised in Louisiana, Lil Snupe started making a name for himself throughout the underground hip hop scene. He was best known for his freestyle rap skills. After listening to a 20-minute mixtape of the young rapper, Mill almost immediately called him to discuss joining his label. According to local police, Lil Snupe was shot and killed at a Winnfield, Louisiana apartment complex at around 4:00 a.m. local time on June 20, 2013. No further details were immediately released.
