| Kris Kross | |
|---|---|
 Smith (left) and Kelly in 1996 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Genres | Southern hip hop |
| Years active |
|
| Labels | |
| Producer(s) | Jermaine Dupri |
| Past members |
|
Kris Kross were an Americanhip hop duo composed of rappers Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith and formed by record producerJermaine Dupri. They were the youngest hip-hop group to gain commercial success, charting releases by the age of 13. Smith and Kelly were discovered by Dupri in 1990, with whom they signed as the first act on his record labelSo So Def Recordings.
The duo saw national recognition with their 1992 debut single, "Jump", a diss toAnother Bad Creation that sat atop theBillboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and received double platinum certification by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA). They released three studio albums; their debut,Totally Krossed Out (1992) peaked atop the USBillboard 200, while their second and third,Da Bomb (1993) andYoung, Rich & Dangerous (1996), both entered the top 20. The duo were also noted for their signature fashion style of backward attire. Kelly died of a drug overdose on May 1, 2013.[1]
The friendship ofAtlanta, Georgia natives James Christopher Kelly (August 11, 1978 – May 1, 2013)[2][3] and Christopher Smith (born January 10, 1979),[4] began in first grade.[5] The duo was discovered at Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta in 1990 by then-18-year-oldJermaine Dupri. According to Dupri, Kelly and Smith were not pursuing a record deal and were not rappers or musicians when he met them.[6] He was impressed with their style, and Kris Kross became the first artists signed to Dupri'sSo So Def label.
Along with Dupri, the two signed a deal withRuffhouse Records and recorded their debut albumTotally Krossed Out. Entirely produced by Dupri,Totally Krossed Out was released on March 31, 1992, and sold four million copies in the U.S. It included the hit single "Jump", which topped theBillboard Hot 100 and held that position for eight weeks.[7]
The music videos from the album also experienced major success. The video for "Jump", directed by filmmaker Rich Murray, went to No. 1 onMTV and sold over 100,000 copies as a VHS video single. The video for their follow-up single, "Warm It Up", also directed by Murray, won aBillboard video award for "Best New Artist",[citation needed] and got to No. 14 the same year as "Jump".[8] WritesThe New York Daily News' Jim Farber: "Together, that was enough to propel the duo's debut album,Totally Krossed Out, to multi-platinum status."[7]
The duo landed a spot onMichael Jackson's 1992 EuropeanDangerous World Tour as well as acameo appearance on Jackson's music video for his 1992 single "Jam". Additionally, they made appearances in the music videos forRun-D.M.C.'s "Down with the King" (1993) andTLC's "Hat 2 da Back" (1992), and they were featured in an episode ofA Different World and as the closing musical act on the May 29, 1992, episode ofIn Living Color.[9][10][11]
A video game starring the pair, titledKris Kross: Make My Video, was released in 1992 on theSega CD system. It consisted of the players editing together the group's music videos for 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 editing session to make sure to have certain footage compiled into the video. It was ranked 18th onElectronic Gaming Monthly's list of the "20 Worst Games of All Time".[12] Kris Kross made acameo appearance inTed Demme's filmWho's the Man? (1993), which starred rapperEd Lover and radio personalityDoctor Dré ofYo! MTV Raps fame.[13]
Kris Kross were also part of the promotional campaign forSprite in 1993 of which they recorded an exclusive rap, a promotional photoshoot, and a commercial for the brand.[14][15][16]
The duo's second album,Da Bomb (1993), wascertified platinum and spawned the hits "Alright" featuringSuper Cat, "I'm Real", and "Da Bomb" featuringDa Brat, whom Smith had discovered. Most of their songs had been directed at rivalsDa Youngstas,Illegal, andAnother Bad Creation.[17]
A third album,Young, Rich & Dangerous, was released in early 1996 and wascertified gold. It spawned the two hits "Tonite's tha Night" and "Live and Die for Hip Hop".[18]
Both members of Kris Kross went toWoodward Academy inCollege Park, Georgia. Kelly studied mix-engineering, and founded C Connection Records.[19] Smith studied marketing and business management and founded One Life Entertainment, Inc.[20]
Kris Kross' last performance was in their hometown at theFox Theatre forSo So Def's 20th Anniversary concert on February 23, 2013.[21]
On April 29, 2013, Chris Kelly was found unconscious in his Atlanta home and taken to the hospital.[22] Two days later, on May 1, he was pronounced dead around 5 p.m. on the south campus of theAtlanta Medical Center; he was 34 years old. Apparently one day before he was found unconscious, he filmed himself rapping in his home.[23][24] According to the police report documents, Kelly had been brought home to recover from his drug use, as he had done several times in the past. His uncle told police that Kelly "had an extensive history of drug abuse."[25][26]
The following day, Producer Jermaine Dupritweeted a "letter to fans", in which he referred to Kelly as "a son that I never had", and praised Kelly as an artist. Chris Smith wrote, "Chris Kelly was my Best Friend. He was like a brother. I love him and will miss him dearly. Our friendship began as little boys in first grade. We grew up together. It was a blessing to achieve the success, travel the world and entertain Kris Kross fans all around the world with my best friend. It is what we wanted to do and what brought us happiness. I will always cherish the memories of the C-Connection."[27]
Numerous other artists and fans publicly acknowledged Kelly's death, some citing Kris Kross or Kelly as their inspiration or their reason for entering the music industry. On July 1, a toxicology report was released stating that Kelly died from a drug overdose. According to the Fulton County Medical Examiner Office, the toxicology screening showed that Kelly had a mixture of drugs in his system, includingheroin and cocaine.[28]
| Year | Album detail | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [29] | US R&B [30] | AUS [31] | AUT [32] | SWE [33] | UK [34] | ||||
| 1992 | Totally Krossed Out
| 1 | 1 | 7 | 33 | 30 | 31 | ||
| 1993 | Da Bomb
| 13 | 2 | 133 | — | — | — | ||
| 1996 | Young, Rich & Dangerous
| 15 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1996 | Best of Kris Kross Remixed '92 '94 '96
|
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1998 | Gonna Make U Jump
|
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [39] | AUS [31] | BEL (Fl) [40] | CAN [41] | FRA [42] | IRE [43] | NZ [44] | SWI [45] | SWE [46] | UK [34] | |||||
| 1992 | "Jump" | 1 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Totally Krossed Out | ||
| "Warm It Up" | 13 | 21 | 21 | — | 44 | 16 | 3 | 34 | 34 | 16 |
| |||
| "I Missed the Bus" | 63 | 95 | — | — | — | — | 28 | — | — | 57 | ||||
| "It's a Shame" | — | — | 35 | — | — | 27 | 19 | — | — | 31 | ||||
| 1993 | "Alright"(withSuper Cat) | 19 | 97 | — | — | — | — | 8 | — | — | 47 |
| Da Bomb | |
| "I'm Real" | 84 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1994 | "Da Bomb"(withDa Brat) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1995 | "Tonite's tha Night" | 12 | 123 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 48 | — | — |
| Young, Rich, & Dangerous | |
| 1996 | "Live and Die for Hip Hop" | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | 30 | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Kris Kross | Best New Artist | Nominated |
| 1993 | "Jump" | Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group | Nominated |
… rapper Chris Smith in 1979 (age 41)
...found unresponsive in his home on Monday...
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
