BROTHER Marquis, one of the major rap group 2 Live Crew members, has died suddenly aged 58.
The group's social media accounts announced that Mark D. Ross, better known as Brother Marquis, died on Monday.
His death appeared to be due to natural causes, according to TMZ sources.
Brother Marquis' death follows the loss of one of the 2 Live Crew's co-founders, Fresh Kid Ice in 2017.
In the rap group's announcement of Brother Marquis' death, they said he "went to the upper room".
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The band's manager confirmed the news to TMZ but didn't provide any additional details.
The talented artist was born in Rochester, New York.
The rapper featured in many of the group's most iconic and controversial albums.
Their hit 1898 LP As Nasty As They Wanna Be, was briefly declared obscene which led to the rappers' arrest in 1990.
Brother Marquis joined the group for their influential debut album, The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are, which was released in 1986
The following year, their album peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
It was awarded a gold certification by the established Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
