2 Live Crew member Brother Marquis dies at the age of 58

The rapper passed away on Monday, according to the group’s official social media accounts, which noted that he “went to the upstairs room.” 2LC’s manager confirmed his death to us, but had no further details on the cause or manner of death.

However, sources with direct knowledge told TMZ that it appeared to be a natural death and there was no suspicion of foul play.

While Marquis — born as Mark Ross – may not have been a founding member of the legendary rap group, but he certainly helped cement their position as a preeminent band in hip hop in the ’80s and ’90s… and joined the likes of DJ Mr. Mixx, Fresh Kid Ice and Luke Skywalker in 1986.

By the time Marquis joined 2LC, they had already made a splash—they had released “Throw the D” and other raunchy songs that put them on the map… and he only backed it up with witty, tongue-in-cheek lyrics full of double entendres.

He eventually appeared on their album “The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are”… and subsequently appeared as a rapper on the band’s other albums, including “Move Somethin’,” “As Nasty As They Wanna Be,” “Banned in the USA,” and “As Nasty as They Wanna Be Part II.”

In the early 90s, the crew mostly disbanded, but Marquis had more success in the music business on his own … he founded the group 2 Nasty and was also heard on a lot of records … including for MCs like Ice-T and other.

Eventually he got back together with some of the guys from 2 Live Crew to put out more music and also released some solo stuff.

Marquis was 58.