Chris Brown's creepy curbside art reportedly scaring Los Angeles neighbors

Published May 11, 2013

Associated Press

• 

  Feb. 12, 2012: In this file photo, Chris Brown accepts the award for best R&B album for "F.A.M.E." during the 54th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.AP

LOS ANGELES –  Grammy-winning musician Chris Brown's neighbors are unhappy with the creepy art he's chosen to have painted along the curb of his Hollywood Hills home.

The Los Angeles Times reports a neighborhood group says the grimacing, sharp-toothed, red-eyed goblins painted along a retaining wall are scaring children.

Los Angeles city code officials cited the "Run It!" singer $376 for unpermitted and excessive signage and ordered him to remove it within 30 days.

Brown's attorney Mark Geragos says neighbors are harassing Brown, whose tumultuous relationship with singer Rihanna and foul-mouthed Twitter presence have given him a bad boy reputation.

Brown won a Grammy in 2011 for Best R&B Album with "F.A.M.E." and was arrested shortly after the 2009 awards ceremony for assaulting Rihanna.

View the original article here

Public viewing held for former Kris Kross rapper Chris Kelly

• 

  Feb. 23, 2013: In this file photo, Chris Kelly of Kris Kross performs on stage at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta during the So So Def 20th Anniversary Concert.AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATLANTA –  An uncle of former Kris Kross rapper Chris Kelly was among the mourners Wednesday at an Atlanta funeral home and said his nephew was a good person who loved his family and was very devoted to his mother and grandmother.

"He will be very missed, especially within our family," Lemar Williams said outside the Murray Brothers Funeral Home. "To the world he was Kris Kross, but to us he was just Chris."

The 34-year-old was found dead May 1 of a suspected drug overdose. Williams and Kelly's mother, Donna Kelly Pratte, told authorities Kelly had a history of drug abuse and experienced similar episodes in the past, according to a police report.

Kelly loved music from an early age and would listen to Michael Jackson and mimic his dance moves, Williams said. He loved Atlanta and never wanted to live anywhere else.

Kriss Kross was introduced to the music world in 1992 by music producer and rapper Jermaine Dupri after he discovered the pair at Greenbriar Mall in southwest Atlanta. Kelly performed alongside Chris Smith, who known as "Daddy Mac."

The duo wore their clothes backward as a gimmick, but they won over fans with their raps.

Their first, and by far most successful song, was "Jump." The hit, off their multiplatinum 1992 debut album "Totally Krossed Out," featured the two trading verses and rapping the refrain, the song's title. The duo had surprising maturity in their rap delivery, though the song was written by Dupri. It would become a No. 1 smash in the United States and globally, and one of the most popular of that year.

Williams declined to speak about any recent troubles his nephew might have had, but said Kelly was preparing to make a comeback. Earlier this year, Kris Kross performed together to celebrate the anniversary of Durpri's label, So So Def.

Ojeifua Sanni, a fan of Kris Kross, remembered getting his first CD ever on his 12th birthday -- Kris Kross' "Young, Rich & Dangerous." Sanni had been revisiting Kris Kross' music recently during a period of nostalgia.

"When I heard he died, it way too close to home," Sanni said.

Kelly's funeral is scheduled for Thursday at Jackson Memorial Baptist Church in Atlanta.

View the original article here

Atlanta funeral scheduled for Kris Kross rapper Chris Kelly

Published May 04, 2013

Associated Press

• 

  Feb. 23, 2013: In this file photo, Chris Kelly of Kris Kross performs on stage at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta during the So So Def 20th Anniversary Concert.AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATLANTA –  Funeral services are planned next week in Atlanta for former Kris Kross rapper Chris Kelly, who was found dead in his home from a possible drug overdose.

Murray Brothers Funeral Home in Atlanta confirmed Saturday that it will hold a public viewing for Kelly throughout the afternoon and evening Wednesday. A funeral service has been scheduled for Thursday at Jackson Memorial Baptist Church.

Kelly, known as "Mac Daddy," and Chris Smith, known as "Daddy Mac," made up the 1990s child rap duo Kris Kross known for wearing their clothes backward as they rhymed. Their song "Jump" became one of the decade's most memorable songs.

The 34-year-old Kelly died Wednesday. His mother told Fulton County police her son had become sick after using cocaine and heroin the night before he died.

View the original article here