Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Join the community of UPR donors who make this station possible. YOUR membership donation has the power to make a big difference! GIVE NOW

Cocaine, Heroin May Have Played Role In Chris Kelly's Death

Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly during a performance on Feb. 23 in Atlanta.
Paras Griffin
/
Landov
Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly during a performance on Feb. 23 in Atlanta.

"Former Kris Kross rapper Chris Kelly had taken a mixture of cocaine and heroin the night before his death and had a history of drug abuse, according to a police report released Thursday," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The newspaper adds that:

"Kelly, 34, was unresponsive on his couch and had no signs of life when paramedics arrived at his southwest Atlanta home Wednesday afternoon, according to the report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Paramedics administered CPR, but Kelly was pronounced dead after being transported to Atlanta Medical Center."

It could be several weeks before tests determine the exact cause of the entertainer's death.

As we reported Thursday, Kelly ("Mac Daddy") and partner Chris Smith ("Daddy Mac") rose to fame when they were young teens. They scored big with "Jump" in 1992.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.