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Chris Kelly, half of 1990s Kris Kross rap duo, dead at 34

Posted at 11:12 PM, May 01, 2013
and last updated 2013-05-02 06:55:11-04

(CNN) – Chris Kelly, one-half of the 1990s rap duo Kris Kross, died Wednesday at an Atlanta hospital after being found unresponsive at his Atlanta home, the Fulton County medical examiner’s office told CNN. He was 34.

An autopsy is planned for Thursday.

Kelly, together with Chris Smith, shot to stardom in 1992 with the hit “Jump,” which spent eight weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. The two also were known for wearing their clothes backward during performances.

The duo followed up their smash “Jump” with the single “Warm It Up.” Together, the songs pushed their debut album, “Totally Krossed Out,” to multiplatinum status.

Kris Kross followed it up with 1993’s “Da Bomb.” But the album failed to find the following of the duo’s debut, in large part because the boys had hit puberty and they were marketed with a tougher image.

Their career never again reached the heights of their debut, but they continued to make music. In 1996, the pair released the album “Young, Rich and Dangerous.”

Kelly and Smith were 13-year-olds when they were discovered in 1991 at an Atlanta mall by Jermaine Dupri.

The pair reunited earlier this year at a 20th anniversary party for Dupri’s So So Def label.