Chris Kelly of the rap group Kriss Kross has died. The 34-year-old was pronounced dead Wednesday (May 1) at the Atlanta Medical Center in Atlanta, GA of what is believed to be a drug overdose.
Police were called to Kelly’s home in south Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon where emergency workers tried to revive him. He was transported to Atlanta Medical Center, where the pronouncement of death was made at around 5 p.m. No official cause of death has been determined, pending an autopsy.
Kelly, stage name “Mac Daddy”, and partner Chris Smith, aka “Daddy Mac”, were introduced to the world in 1992 as Kriss Kross by music producer Jermaine Dupri under his newly former So So Def music label.
The duo’s debut album Totally Krossed Out was a multi-platinum success, led by the song “Jump” which became a global hit. While subsequent albums enjoyed moderate success with songs such as “Warm It Up,” “Live & Die For Hip Hop,” and “Tonite’s tha Night,” Kiss Kross was never able to duplicate the success of “Jump.”
Kelly’s most recent public appearance was at So So Def’s 20th Anniversary Reunion show in February where he and Smith preformed along side other former label mates.
Kriss Kross preforms at So So Def concert, February 2013:
