Kris Kross

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Kris Kross was an American teenage rap duo of the early 1990s comprising Chris "Mack Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mack" Smith. The duo is best known for their 1992 hit "Jump", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and was certified double platinum as a single. They were also known for their fashion styling, which consisted of wearing their clothes backwards.

Career

Atlanta natives Kelly (born August 11, 1978) and Smith (born January 10, 1979) were childhood friends, discovered at the age of 12 in 1991 by 18-year-old Jermaine Dupri at an Atlanta shopping mall.^[1] Dupri thought the two "looked like a rap group"^{[citation needed]} and proceeded to groom them as such.

Their Dupri-produced debut album, Totally Krossed Out, was released in 1992 and sold four million copies in the US. It included the hit single "Jump", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks.

The duo landed a spot on Michael Jackson's 1992 Dangerous Tour, as well as a cameo appearance on Jackson's "Jam" music video. In addition to this, they also made appearances in the music videos for Run-D.M.C.'s "Down with the King" and TLC's "Hat 2 Da Back". They were also featured in an episode of A Different World.

In 1992, a video game directed by Denis Dyack was released starring the pair titled Kris Kross: Make My Video. It was released on the Sega CD system, and consisted of the player editing together the group's music videos to a few of their hit songs—using portions of the original music videos, stock footage, and general video animation effects. Players were prompted before each edit session to make sure to have certain footage compiled into the video. The game was released only in the United States to poor sales figures and dismal reviews. It was ranked 18th on Electronic Gaming Monthly's list of the "20 Worst Games of All Time".^[2]

Kris Kross made a cameo appearance in Ted Demme's 1993 film Who's the Man?, which starred Ed Lover and Doctor Dré of Yo! MTV Raps fame.

Their second album, Da Bomb (1993), was certified platinum, and spawned the hit "Alright", although it failed to match their earlier success. Most of their songs had been directed at rivals Da Youngstas, Illegal and Another Bad Creation. A third album, Young, Rich & Dangerous, was released in early 1996 and was certified gold. It spawned the two hits "Tonite's tha Night" and "Live and Die for Hip Hop". Following its run, the duo disappeared from the public eye.

The duo was rumored to be reuniting in 2007.^[3] Smith recorded a solo album, 'Urbane Expressions', but it was not released. Kelly organized his own label called C.co records.

Discography

All albums were released on Ruffhouse/Columbia Records.

Albums

Compilations

Singles

References

External links

• One Life EntertainmentChris Smith's official website
• HipHop.sh The 411 on ATL's Kris Kross
• Kris Kross at Legacy Recordings
• Chris Kelly at BlackHistoryDaily.com