Brother Marquis was 19 years old when he joined 2 Live Crew and started recording some of the most famous dirty raps that the world has ever known.
He was born in New York, moved to L.A. at 14, and flew straight to Miami when the Crew needed an extra rapper.
Nearly 30 years later, he's been to the Supreme Court, and fought and won to preserve the right for every American to record and sell songs like "We Want Some Pussy." Now Marquis and Fresh Kid Ice have an amazing new 2 Live Crew album, Turn Me On, with production by Pretty Tony and Mannie Fresh, not to mention features from Trick Daddy, Trina, Too $hort, E-40, and Insane Clown Posse.
Here's what Brother Marquis has to say about wild shows, his first Spanish girl, and how he came up with his lyrics.
See also: 2 Live Crew's Fresh Kid Ice on Getting Arrested "Just 'Cause the Album Was Deemed Obscene"
Crossfade: Wasup, man. Much motherfuckin' respect for your work.
Brother Marquis: Thanks. We've been dealing with New Times for years and years and years. So it's a second home to us for literature and interviews and columns.
Where you from originally?
I'm from Rochester, New York. My moms moved from New York to California, and that's where I met Mr. Mixx, a very loyal guy who said if he ever got on in music he would call me to be part of it. One day, I got a call to come to Miami with Mr. Mixx, Fresh Kid Ice, and Luther Campbell and that's what I did, and we started making records, Miami bass records, with a subject matter that we got here out of Miami.
What was the first thing you recorded?
My first track with 2 Live Crew was on the album 2 Live Is What We Are. The group was already together before I came to be part of it. "Word" was the first song we did together. I made my first two records out in California in 9th grade and when I was a junior in high school.
See also: Miami Booty Bass: Ten Best Acts of All Time
How old were you when you got into the 2 Live Crew?
When I got in, I was about 19 years old.
What's your favorite memory from a show?
My first show that I did for 2 Live Crew was at Miami Youth Fair in 1985. I remember a lot of girls screaming and they were very receptive to us. They loved us.
What's the craziest thing you ever saw happen on the stage?
One time in the Carolinas, we had some dancers and they stuck a dildo up this guy from the audience's ass. He was up in the front row, tryin' to look like a player with the little hat on, and they got him up there, stripped him naked, and stuck a dildo up his ass. I was laughin', but still tryin to sing the words. And everybody was laughing.
Haha. What other kind of stuff would the girls do?
It was a girl that she would put water inside of her and hold it there and then she would go to the front of the stage and spit it out of her pussy in the guys' faces and they would drink it all up. Thank god we never got in any trouble at that particular time. We would just laugh about it. They guys loved it.
What kind of stuff would go on backstage with the dancers?
The girls had their own dressing room. We kept it professional. I had my own shit goin' on. I never hardly messed around with none of the dancers. But they were wild in their own right.
Any funny stories from the girls you got with?
I remember, one time, this chick snuck up in my room. I went downstairs and took her car and was riding crazy in the parking lot, jumping curbs and all kind of shit. Goin' to the store, riding other groupies around in her car.
What do you think about the bass movement and how that sound has gone around the world?
I'm grateful and honored to be a pioneer as far as explicit lyrics, First Amendment rights, fighting censorship, and naked women on the stage. We were responsible for securing a lot of that freedom of speech for everybody.
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On the topic of freedom of speech, can we go through some of your verses on different songs? Let's start with a classic:
From "Face Down, Ass Up"
Grip it with your pussy, go up and down
I got her callin' my name out when I'm freakin' out
I bust a nut, and then I'm breakin' out
So when you're naked, down on all fours
You better make sure that you get yours
'Cause a nigga like me will love ya and leave ya
I got mine, ho! SEE YA!
Did you write that or just perform it?
I wrote that.
How'd you come up with it?
Oh, man, fuckin' around, you know. It was like, I got mine, see ya. Be fuckin' girls and bustin' a nut and goin' to sleep. Haha.
Where'd you record it?
We had a studio on 71st street in Liberty City. I wrote it in the studio. When we did that album, we never did have a lot of people around. We always kind of worked alone, never an entourage. Mr. Mixx liked to work by hisself. We worked at night. It was a lot of tension on that album with Luther feelin' himself on that "Banned in the U.S.A." But we were so hot that it came out and it went gold.
Alright, here's another one:
From "Me So Horny"
Sitting at home with my dick on hard
So I got the black book for a freak to call
Picked up the telephone, then dialed the seven digits
Said, "Yo, this Marquis, baby! Are you down with it?"
I arrived at her house, knocked on the door
Not having no idea of what the night had in store
I'm like a dog in heat, a freak without warning
I have an appetite for sex, 'cause me so horny
Did you come up with that verse?
I wrote every lyric on that record. When we used to do concerts and go back to the room, that movie Full Metal Jacket always used to be on the TV. I used to mess around with the Asian lady's line, "Me so horny," just clownin' around and Mr. Mixx put it to record.
How'd you come up with the lyrics?
I was sittin' at home with my dick on hard, literally. That was some true shit. I was sittin' at home, watchin Arsenio Hall. I was discovering myself sexually with a lot of nice lookin' chicks and it all came into play.
Where were you living back then?
Probably on 135th and Biscayne. I had some nice lookin' girls. A lot of pretty girls. I would meet 'em like in the street, just ridin' around, man. Meet 'em at the club or see 'em in the street, pull over and start talking to them. Goin' out campaignin' for bitches.
What car were you driving?
When I wrote that, I had an '83 Buick Regal with trues and vogues on it. Yup. And I had that crush interior, the velvet pillow crush, with about four 12s in the trunk. Back in the '80s, you know we was rollin' with that bass. That's when we had the fans in the trunk, otherwise the amps would get so hot they start clickin' and cut off.
See also: Miami Freestyle: 13 Best Acts of All Time
How about this one?
From "We Want Some Pussy!"
You see, me and my homies like to play this game
We call it Amtrak, but some call it the train
We all would line up in a single-file line
And take our turns at waxing girls' behinds
But every time it came to me, I was shit out of luck
Because I'd stick my dick in, and it would get stuck
The girls would say, "Stop!" I'd say, "I'm not!
That's enough, I quit, 'cause y'all are bustin' me out!"
I say, girls, don't hide it, just divide it
And please don't knock it until you've tried it
So to all of you bitches and all you hoes
Let's have group sex and do the Rambo!
Were you a writer on "We Want Some Pussy"?
I wrote that whole song. Luke came up with the hook, but I came up with the verse. We were on 36th Street and 17th Avenue by the radio station. You know, back then, we was young and crazy was gettin' a lot of pussy and shit, yo.
Was it all true?
Some of it's true, some of it's fiction. But one thing I do remember is the girls lined up just like that in a single-file line. Shit, back then was wild. I remember once we had three girls in the room and about five or six guys waitin' their turn in the hallway. And they was ready for whatever.
How about this one?
From "Hoochie Mama"
I don't know my reputation
But all the niggas in the hood say it's all good
But the bitch ain't shit, so you need to make a switch
Smackin' on ya lips with your hands on your hips
Triflin' slimy, don't try me
Playin' on the phone? You supposed to be grown
Bitch, stop lyin', I ain't with it
Keep runnin' ya mouth and Imma stick my dick in it
You wrote that "Hoochie Mama"?
I came up with that hook. I got that hook out in LA, where they used to call em' hoodrats and hoochie mamas. Then me and Mr. Mixx came down here and did it.
And then there's this classic dirty rap:
From "Fuck Shop"
Please come inside, make yourself at home
I want to fuck, cause my dick's on bone
You little whore behind closed doors
You would drink my cum and nothing more
Now spread your wings open for the flight
Let me fill you up with something milky and white
Cause I'm hopin' to slay you, rough and painful
You innocent bitch, don't be shameful
Bring out the ice cubes and the hot water
This is the second half, and not the second quarter
I'll fuck you 'till you sleep; you'll sleep like a baby
And in your dreams, you'll say I'm crazy
In the Fuck Shop!
Who was behind "Fuck Shop"?
Luke came up with that shit, they would go to SW 8th street and take the hoes to the rental hotel for an hour and they call that the Fuck Shop. I wrote all the verses. We would actually write them down back then and go in the booth with the paper.
See also: Ten Best Miami Rap Anthems Ever
From "Mamolopenga"
I bumped into her at the Coco Cabana
Down in Cuban town in little Havana
I asked her her name, she said Juanita
I just had to ask cuz I just had to meet her
I heard of fast girls but she's a speeder
She said she was hungry and told me to feed her
So I got an expresso and a hot burrito
You look so sweet you fine senorita
Mamalopenga, mama sita
It's a black thing baby so you know it's sweeter
Okay Juanita now I must be your guy
She said Juanita's my nickname, call me Spanish fly
Love the lyrics on "Mamolopenga," you wrote them?
Yeah. That's when I first started messing with Spanish girls. I had one out on Coral Way. Nubia. She was my first Spanish girl. I thought I was Rico Suave when I met her. She worked at the flea market on 79th Street. She was a little cutie. I messed with her for a couple of years, but I could never go to her house 'cause of her brothers, Spanish niggas. They ain't like me. She stayed right off 27th and 36th, by the juvenile detention center.
Did she know that she inspired that song?
No, she didn't. But she knew what I did, and I know what she did too. Nice girl.
From "99 Problems" by Ice-T, featuring Brother Marquis
I got 99 problems and a bitch ain't one of them
I don't trip on hoes, cause I don't need none of them
Pussy's the temptation, dick's the persuasion
All hoes suck cock nigga how you play 'em?
That's why I don't sleep on 'em, I just freak on 'em
Stick dick in they mouth; take it out and I skeet on 'em
The nigga the one-nighter, the bitch exciter
I only love my hoes when I'm goin up inside her
Problem number one is gettin money
I'd rather taste the green than sip the honey
So don't expect nuttin cause I ain't offerin
I go hard on my bitches, cause I'm never never softenin'
Puttin the demand on 'em, fuck 'em and scram on 'em
The "wham, bam, thank you ma'am" game is ran on 'em
So fuck how you feel, you fuckin cheap thrill
I hope you took the pill cause I won't pay the bill
Gettin pussy's just another expense
If pussy pays the bills then dick pays the rent
I only need a ho for one thing and that's to cum
I've got 99 problems and a bitch ain't one!
You wrote that?
I got that saying from a guy named Jiggalo at the Rollexx. He was from Overtown. I used to hear him saying that all the time, so I adapted it.
I saw you had a lawsuit with Jay Z and Ice-T over that, did they ever do right by it?
No, you know Jay Z don't pay nobody. They gave me a little something, but not what I shoulda got. Ice tried to keep it real to the best of his ability. I don't fault him for that.
What's up with the new album?
It's a nice body of work. We redid "Face Down, Ass Up," and "Get It Girl," two of my classics, as well as a good trap music. We got a new single with Trick Daddy and Trina coming.
What about "Take It Off" that Pretty Tony produced?
That's good too. The video is premiering on World Star next week.
So you're originally from New York, then you started raping in Southern California, and then you've been repping Miami all these years. That's like the early days of hip-hop, all in one person.
Yeah, man. I been around, I been around. Baby, I been around. I like that idea.
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