The Kriss Kross funeral for former member Chris Kelly was surged with emotions as the surviving member of the hip hop duo gave an emotional eulogy where he remembered Kelly as a “true friend.”
The Kriss Kross rapper’s funeral took place on Thursday in Atlanta and brought out over 300 of the hip hop star’s friends, family, and partners in the music business.
Of course, out of all the celebrities that filed into the Atlanta Baptist church that day all eyes were on Chris Smith who was already in tears before he began speaking at the pulpit.
While all of the attendees were already visibly upset and saddened by the tragic loss, it was Chris’s speech that caused several guests to break down – including Chris himself.
“It’s been a struggle for me every day, but there was a peace that came over me this morning because I know he’s in heaven,” he said as tears continued to pour down his face.
He went on to remember just how close of a friend he was with his hip hop partner.
“He was a true friend… I just wanna say I love you man… and I’m gonna miss you dearly,” he added.
After more weeping he admitted that his life “ain’t ever gonna be the same” without Kelly and that he hopes their “legacy for hip hop is never forgotten.”
It wasn’t long before he struggled to get any words out and he buried his face in his arm behind the pulpit.
The 34-year-old rapper is believed to have passed away due to a drug overdose which made the loss all that much more difficult for his friends and family to cope with.
His mother admitted that Kelly dealt with some serious drug issues before and she always did what she could to help her son.
At the funeral, Kelly’s mother Donna Kelly Pratte also had an emotional break down when it came time for the deacons to close the casket.
“Please don’t close it,” she screamed through her tears. “Please don’t close it on my baby.”
Other members of the hip hop community came to remember Kelly as well.
“He just wanted to smile,” said Tamika Scott, one of the members of Xscape. “That’s all he wanted. He was known to be a happy person.”
As for Kelly’s former label mate Da Brat and the man who discovered Kriss Kross, Jermaine Dupri, came to the funeral with their pants backwards to honor the rap duo that wore their clothes backwards when they performed.
The entire funeral seemed to be tailored to remember Chris Kelly’s legacy.
An acoustic version of the Kriss Kross hit “Jump” was playing during the funeral and a sign on the inside of the casket read, “Cause that’s what I was born to do…” which is a famous line from the duo’s hit “Warm It Up.”
Throughout the funeral several pictures were flashed of Kelly with other music icons such as Michael Jackson, Patti LaBelle, and Gerald Levert.
His death came shortly after Kriss Kross was set to come back unto the music scene after a concert they did for Dupri’s label So So Def’s 20th anniversary.
Unfortunately, it was the push back into the celebrity spotlight that is believed to have caused Chris Kelly to get involved with serious drugs again.
