Brother Marquis

Mark D. Ross, better known by his stage name Brother Marquis, is an American rapper and a Miami bass pioneer. Ross was born in Rochester, New York, in his teens, and with his mother, they moved to Los Angeles, California. By the early 1980s, Ross started to release music with his group The Caution Crew, and shortly after he made an impression DJ and producer David Hobbs (Mr. Mixx) due to his battle rap abilities. At the time Hobbs was part of a group named 2 Live Crew, who had just created the Miami Bass blueprint and were successful in Florida. Eventually, a member of the group left, and Ross accepted an invitation to replace him. Due to his comedic sensibilities, Ross integrated easily into the direction the group was taking. Alongside Hobbs, Chris Wong Won (Fresh Kid Ice), and Luther Campbell (Luke), they became the most well-known lineup of the group. In 1986, they had a breakthrough with their Gold-certified debut album, The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are. The group's success came with controversies due to the explicit nature of their humor, however, they continued their rise to fame with their second album, Move Somethin' (1988), which also went gold. Their third album As Nasty As They Wanna Be (1989), was certified Platinum and their biggest success. Prior to the group's separation, they made two more albums which went Gold Banned in the U.S.A. (1990) and Sports Weekend: As Nasty as They Wanna Be, Pt. 2 (1991). In the early 1990s, Ross embarked on various musical endeavors. He formed the duo 2 Nazty with Aldrin Davis (DJ Toomp) and released the album Indecent Exposure in 1993, showcasing his versatility and prowess. During the same year, Ross was a featured rapper on Tracy Marrow (Ice-T)'s album Home Invasion, contributing to the original version of "99 Problems," which later was remade by Shawn Carter (Jay-Z) into a top charting hit. In 1996, Ross, Wong Won, and Hobbs reunited as 2 Live Crew and released the album Shake a Lil' Somethin', which reached #145 on the Billboard 200 and #33 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In 1998, Ross and Wong Won released The Real One, which peaked at #59 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, marking the final 2 Live Crew album to date. In 2003, Ross released a solo project called Bottom Boi Style Vol. 1. In 2006, Ross and Wong Won, as 2 Live Crew, reunited, started touring, released singles, and made several album announcements, until Wong Won's death in 2017. Since, and on his own Ross continues to make music. Separately from his regular activities, Ross has been doing stand-up comedy since the early 1990s.