[UPDATED] Chris Kelly Of ‘Kriss Kross’, Dies, Drug Overdose Suspected + Mother & Jermaine Dupri Release Statements

Very sad news. According to reports, 34-year-old former rapper, Chris Kelly, of the 1990’s rap group ‘Kris Kross’, has passed. 11 Alive reports that he was found dead on Wednesday evening. According to the Fulton County Medical Examiner, he was discovered unresponsive at his home and was later pronounced dead at Atlanta Medical Center – South Fulton shortly after 8 p.m.

Atlanta radio personality, DJ Greg Street confirmed the news, with the following statement:

Sad to hear the loss of my lil homie, Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly. I met him and Chris “Daddy Mac” Smith in ’93. Their song “Jump” had been #1 on the billboard charts for eight weeks. Everyone knows Kriss Kross for their music and the crazy way they used to dress, but once they started working with So So Def, they became family. Kriss Kross just performed at the 20th anniversary of So So Def. Around 7:45 I received a phone call from his cousin saying they had found Kelly at the house just 20 minutes earlier and he was unresponsive. I just received confirmation that he has passed.

The cause of death has not yet been determined. Story developing. [Associated Press, News One]

UPDATED: 5/7/13

– According to AJC, Kelly’s death is being investigated as a drug overdose, Fulton County police Cpl. Kay Lester told The AJC. An autopsy is planned for Thursday morning to determine the official cause of death.

-Early Thursday morning, the following statement was released by Chris’ mother:

“It is with deep sadness that we announce that our beloved Chris Kelly has passed away on May 1. To millions of fans worldwide, he was the trendsetting, backwards pants-wearing one-half of Kris Kross who loved making music. But to us, he was just Chris – the kind, generous and fun-loving life of the party. Though he was only with us a short time, we feel blessed to have been able to share some incredible moments with him. His legacy will live on through his music, and we will forever love him.” Donna Kelly Pratte (mother) & The So So Def Family

– The following statement has been released by Jermaine Dupri, who signed Chris to Kriss Kross:

Updated: 5/2/13 (8:11 p.m. EST)

A number of outlets are speculating that the night before his death, Chris had taken a mixture of cocaine and heroin. According to a police report, he also had a history of drug abuse, which close friends and family (like his mother) were aware of. AJC reports, that he

was unresponsive on his couch and had no signs of life when paramedics arrived at his southwest Atlanta home Wednesday afternoon. Paramedics administered CPR, but Kelly was pronounced dead after being transported to Atlanta Medical Center.

So what happened beforehand? Reportedly, the day before his death, he felt nauseous before he passed out on the couch. His mother, Donna Kelly Pratte, promptly called 911. His mother told police the former teen star had an extensive history of drug abuse. Toxicology results will not be known for at least three weeks.