Funeral Service Scheduled For Kris Kross' Chris Kelly In Atlanta

[NelsonG]

by Maurice Bobb

While the wait for the results of Kris Kross’ Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly’s autopsy continues, the rapper’s funeral has been confirmed.

A public viewing of the former teen idol’s body will be held on Wednesday (May 8) afternoon and evening at Murray Brothers Funeral Home in Atlanta, while the funeral with be held the next day (May 9) at Jackson Memorial Baptist Church.

Kelly, who was only 34 years old, was found unresponsive at his home by paramedics and transferred to Atlanta Medical Center South, where he was pronounced dead. After speaking with Kelly’s mother, Donna Kelly Pratte, who told police that her son had taken a deadly cocktail of heroin and cocaine, authorities believe that the cause of death was a drug overdose.

Kelly, along with his partner in rhyme Chris “Daddy Mac” Smith, rose to prominence in the nineties after their debut album, Totally Krossed Out, went four times platinum on the strength of its first breakout single, “Jump,” which spent an unprecedented eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The backwards clothes-wearing duo was discovered by Jermaine Dupri in a mall, where the two held court as local celebrities, and took the industry by storm, garnering millions of rabid teenage fans and landing a cameo in Michael Jackson’s “Jam” music video as well as a spot on the King of Pop’s Dangerous World Tour in 1992.

Kris Kross had an indelible effect on many of today’s biggest artists, including Lauryn Hill, who recently released a new song, "Neurotic Society (Compulsory Mix),” which she dedicated to Kelly.

"Hello All: Here is a link to a piece that I was ‘required’ to release immediately, by virtue of the impending legal deadline. I love being able to reach people directly, but in an ideal scenario, I would not have to rush the release of new music… but the message is still there. In light of Wednesday’s tragic loss (of former label mate Chris Kelly), I am even more pressed to YELL this to a multitude that may not understand the cost of allowing today’s unhealthy paradigms to remain unchecked!" Lauryn said via her blog.

[url=http://rapfix.mtv.com/2013/05/06/funeral-service-scheduled-for-kris-kross-chris-kelly-in-atlanta/]View the full article[/url]