Chris Kelly dies at the age of 34 of a suspected drug overdose.

Police were called to Kelly’s home by the rapper’s cousin at around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Kelly was then taken to Atlanta Medical Centre.

Thirty minutes later at 5 p.m., Kelly – half of the rap duo famous for the hit song Jump – was pronounced dead.

There is no official confirmation yet on the cause of death of the rapper, but Cpl Kay Lester, a spokeswoman for the Fulton County police said, “It appears it may have been a possible drug overdose.”

An autopsy is due to be held on Thursday.

Kelly, known as Mac Daddy, performed alongside Chris Smith, known as Daddy Mac, in the early and mid-90s and became a rapping sensation during those time.

The duo’s hit song, Jump, is from their 1992 debut album, Totally Krossed Out, and has helped propel them to stardom and sales of four million copies in the US. Their work has topped the Billboard chart for eight weeks.

Kriss Kross also became known for their hip-hop style – and in particular wearing their clothes back to front.

Then 18-year old Jermaine Dupri, who helped them record their hit debut album, discovered the teen rap duo. Dupri wrote an emotional letter Thursday to his fans detailing his close relationship with Chris. Dupri wrote, “”I will always love you chris, and I will never let the world forget you, may god bless your soul.”

Dupri who is a multi-platinum selling producer described Chris as the son he never had.

In 1992, the talented pair landed a spot on Michael Jackson’s Dangerous world tour and in the same year, a cameo appearance in the popular Jam music video

Their own music video for Jump became number one on MTV and sold over 100,000 copies as a VHS video single.

Kriss Kross’s second and third album also went platinum and gold, respectively, although it did not achieve the success of their first album. The primary reason for the succeeding albums not having as much traction is the teenagers’ hitting puberty and thus were marked with a tougher image.

A joint statement was released Wednesday by So So Def and Kelly’s mother, Donna Kelly Pratte, paying tribute to the “kind, generous and fun-loving star.”

The statement read:

“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 trend-setting, backward 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.”

Twitter was flooded with condolences from celebrities and friends of the rapper. Rapper and actor LL Cool J dedicated a song to the departed rapper, tweeting, "R.I.P Chris Kelly. This song is now officially dedicated to you. May GOD embrace your soul & lift up your family."