The cause of 2 Live Crew rapper Brother Marquis’ death has been revealed, days after his passing was announced. According to the Chief Deputy Coroner at Etowah County Coroner’s Office, Dantez Robinson (via TMZ), Marquis, whose real name was Mark Ross, suffered a massive heart attack, confirming that there were no foul play or other substances involved.
Mark’s death was announced on Monday (June 3) by the official 2 Live Crew Instagram account. “Mark Ross AKA Brother Marquis of the 2 Live crew has passed away,” the announcement read. Shortly afterward, tributes to Brother Marquis began pouring in from other hip-hop luminaries, including his bandmate Luther Campbell, aka Uncle Luke. “My Condolence goes out to the Family of Brother Marquis and so many of his Fans from around the World after learning his passing,” Luke wrote. “We took on so many fights for the culture made Great music together something I would never forget.”
Those fights included legal battles over freedom of speech in hip-hop, encompassing disputes over “obscene” subjects and rap’s right to parody popular culture. Their third album, As Nasty As They Wanna Be, was declared obscene in court, only to have a court of appeals overturn the verdict, while their song “Pretty Woman” was the center of a lawsuit over copyright infringement of Roy Orbison’s hit “Oh, Pretty Woman.” The 2 Live Crew version was deemed a fair use of the original, with Orbison’s publisher withdrawing an appeal of the suit and settling out of court.