Kris Kross' Chris Kelly Autopsy Complete!
There is no evidence of foul play, but a cause of death won't be determined until after the toxicology report is completed.
There are no signs of trauma or foul play in the death of Kris Kross rapper Chris Kelly, lending credence to reports that the 34-year-old died after he had taken a mixture of heroin and cocaine.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner completed an autopsy Thursday (May 2), but Kelly's official cause of death won't be determined until at least three weeks after the toxicology report is complete, a county rep told MTV News.
On Wednesday morning, hours before he died, Kelly took a phone call from Streetz 94.5 producer Akini. The Atlanta radio station released the audio online, and during the minute-long conversation, Kelly appears to be a bit out of sorts. "When you listen to the phone conversation, you can tell there is a lot going on in the background," Akini wrote on the station's website.
Police officers arrived at Kelly's home at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday in response to a report of a death. When paramedics arrived on the scene, they found Kelly lying unresponsive on his couch with "no life signs." He was transferred to Atlanta Medical Center South, where he was pronounced dead. According to the report obtained by MTV News, Kelly's mother, Donna Kelly Pratte, told officers that the rapper — who went by the name Mac Daddy — had taken a mixture of cocaine and heroin the night before, a concoction commonly known as speedballs.
In the report, Pratte is identified as "a close friend" of Kelly and said that she had brought him home to recover from his drug use and that he "had done this several times in the past."
Pratte issued a statement on her son's death, writing, "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."
Kriss Kross in 1992. (From L to R: Chris “Daddy Mac” Smith and Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly.)
Terrible news to pass along this evening. Multiple news outlets are reporting that singer Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly of the ’90s era hip-hop act Kris Kross was found dead at his Atlanta home this evening. The cause of death is not known at this time.
Kris Kross sold over four million copies of their 1992 debut album, Totally Krossed Out, after their song “Jump Jump” exploded into the national consciousness. Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly and Chris “Daddy Mac” Smith were discovered by the now legendary hip-hop impresario Jermaine Dupri, who produced their debut album (which, we should note, also contained the #1 rap single “Warm It Up”). The group became known for their trademark style of wearing their clothes backwards, but never inside out (because that would’ve been “wiggity, wiggity, wiggity wack”).
The group went on to release two other studio albums, 1993′s Da Bomb and 1996′s Young, Rich & Dangerous, neither of which were able to match the monumental success of their debut. The two stayed out of the limelight for the better part of the last two decades, but Kriss Kross recently reunited for a performance at the So So Def 20th Anniversary Party this February.
We’ll have more on this breaking story as soon as additional information becomes available, but for now, we’d like to offer our condolences to Kelly’s friends and family.
CHECK OUT LAST PERFORMANCE FROM KRISS KROSS TOGETHER:
And here’s video from the So So Def 20th Anniversary Concert in February…
[Photo: Getty Images]
No comments:
Post a Comment