Back in the early 90's was the time in hip-hop where everything started taking off. You had so much variety in rap with conscious rappers, west coast rappers, eat coast rappers and everyone in between. One of those rap groups, Kriss Kross, not only caught our ear, but also took hold of our attention with their style and swagger while being so young.
So it's no wonder that the hip-hop world was stunned when Chris Kelly, one-half of the 90′s Hip-Hop group, died suddenly at age 34. Legendary Atlanta radio host DJ Greg Street, music producer Bryan-Michael Cox and others in the music business took to Twitter to offer condolences. His cause of death by drug overdose was officially confirmed by the Fulton County Medical Examiner's office on July 1, 2013.
Kelly’s mother, Donna Kelly Pratte, and his uncle told police that her son had an “extensive history of drug use” and that he had taken “speedballs” — a potentially fatal cocktail of heroin and cocaine — the night before his death, TMZ reported.
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Speedball (or powerball) is a mix of cocaine with heroin or morphine taken intravenously or by insufflation. The original speedball used cocaine hydrochloride mixed with morphine sulfate, as opposed to heroin. Speedball may also use pharmaceutical opioids, benzodiazepines or barbiturates along with stimulants. However, since opioids and sedative-hypnotics have different objective and subjective effects, stimulant-depressant mixtures are known by the slang term "set up". A cocktail of drugs of this magnitude can cause a strong physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms.
Although many people speculated on the former child star lifestyle, a representative on behalf of the Fulton County Police Department revealed that witness accounts and evidence collected at the scene all point to an apparent drug overdose, CBS Atlanta reports.
READ: Drug Overdose: How To Handle The Situation
Kelly, known as "Mac Daddy," and Chris Smith, known as "Daddy Mac," were introduced to the music world in 1992 by music producer and rapper Jermaine Dupri after he discovered the pair in an Atlanta mall. The duo wore their clothes backwards as a gimmick, but they won over fans with their raps. Their biggest song was "Jump" - which instantly led to a multi-platinum album and global recognition.
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The last time Kelly was seen was during a performance at the star-studded So So Def 20th Anniversary Concert in...
... Atlanta. Kris Kross was joined by Jermaine Dupri, Bow Wow, Bone Crusher, Jagged Edge and other prodigies of So So Def Records.
READ: The Alarming Abuse Of Prescription Drugs
"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," Kelly's family said in a statement.
