Kris Kross Singer Found Dead in His SW Atlanta Home

One half of the famous duo, Kris Kross, was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at his home on Stoneleigh Drive shortly after 4:30 p.m. on May 1st.

Chris Kelly was a native of Atlanta and a member of the super successful hip-hop group Kriss Kross, who saw huge success in the mid 1990's under Jermaine Dupri's label So So Def.

As the story goes, a young Jermaine Dupri discovered the duo performing while walking through Greenbriar Mall...The rest was history as the teenagers made millions of dollars in the music industry.

Cascade Patch's sister outlet, the Huffington Post, reported the following:

Kris Kross rocketed to stardom a year later with the release of the single "Jump." The song spent eight weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, became an aerobics anthem and helped their debut album "Totally Krossed Out" go multiplatinum, CNN reported.

Soon Kris Kross was touring with pop star Michael Jackson and appearing as guests on numerous TV programs. They recorded the "Rugrats Rap" for Nickelodeon and were listed at number 90 on VH1's list of "The 100 Greatest Kid Stars."

The Fulton County Police Department told Cascade Patch that, Emergency Responders gave Kelly CPR on the scene before being transported to the Atlanta Medical Center, South Fulton campus.

A copy of the Fulton County Police Report is attached.

According to the report, first responders found Chris Kelly lying unconscious on the living room couch.  Responding Fulton County police officer, Ofc. Burkhart, said that he spoke to a witness at the scene who said, "the night before the victim was out and had taken a mixture of heroine and cocaine."

The witness, who has not been identified said that she, "had brought Kelly home to recover from his drug use and have done this several times in the past."  According to the police report, the witness also stated that, "Kelly felt nauseous all morning and at 3 p.m., passed out and was unresponsive."

Chris Kelly's uncle gave a statement to police officers saying that Chris has, "an extensive history of drug abuse."  The police reports says that the initial investigation found no drugs on his person or in his home.

The Atlanta music community was hit hard by this news, and thousands of tweets of support were sent out via Twitter.  It was just a few short months ago that Kris Kross were back on stage and the opening act for the epic So So Def Records' 20th anniversary party at The Fox.  Other celebrities included Jay Z and Mariah Carey.

Chris Kelly’s mother, Donna Kelly Pratte, and So So Def Family said the singer’s legacy will live on through his music in the following released statement:

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.

The AJC reports that, "An autopsy conducted Thursday morning found no signs of foul play or trauma, the medical examiner’s office said. Toxicology results will not be known for several weeks."