Posted by | Ray Cornelius
The AJC is reporting that rapper Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly of the hip-hop duo, Kris Kross has died. He was found unresponsive in his Atlanta home. He was 34.
Kelly rose to fame with Chris Smith during early the 90’s as part of Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def musical family. Kris Kross was one of Dupri’s first signed acts and developed a huge following among teenagers. The boys were best known for wearing their clothes backwards and had a few hit records including, “Jump” and “Totally Krossed Out.”
Kelly, was found unresponsive on Wednesday afternoon and was transported to Atlanta Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Reportedly, his death is being investigated as a drug overdose with an autopsy planned for this morning.
Kelly’s mother, Donna Kelly Pratte said in a statement:
Chris Kelly with Chris Smith
“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.”
Kelly reunited with Smith in February for the 20th Anniversary Concert for So So Def Records.