Product Code Database
Kris Kross were an American hip hop duo composed of rappers Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith and formed by record producer Jermaine 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 label So So Def Recordings.
The duo saw national recognition with their 1992 debut single, "Jump", which sat atop the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). They released three studio albums; their debut, Totally Krossed Out (1992) peaked atop the US Billboard 200, while their second and third, Da Bomb (1993) and Young, 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.
The music videos from the album also experienced major success. The video for "Jump", directed by filmmaker Rich Murray, went to No. 1 on MTV 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 a Billboard video award for "Best New Artist", and got to No. 14 the same year as "Jump". Writes The New York Daily News' Jim Farber: "Together, that was enough to propel the duo's debut album, Totally Krossed Out, to multi-platinum status."
A video game starring the pair, titled ', was released in 1992 on the Sega 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 on Electronic Gaming Monthlys list of the "20 Worst Games of All Time". Kris Kross made a cameo appearance in Ted Demme's film Who's the Man? (1993), which starred rapper Ed Lover and radio personality Doctor Dré of Yo! MTV Raps'' fame.
Kris Kross were also part of the promotional campaign for Sprite in 1993 of which they recorded an exclusive rap, a promotional photoshoot, and a commercial for the brand.
The following day, producer Jermaine Dupri Twitter 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."Grossberg, Josh (May 2, 2013). " Chris Kelly Death: Kris Kross' Chris Smith Mourns His 'Best Friend' and 'Brother'". E! News. May 2, 2013.
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, including heroin and cocaine.Duke, Alan (July 3, 2013). "Kris Kross' Chris Kelly died from overdose, autopsy says". CNN.
| 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 | |||||||||
| 1996 | Best of Kris Kross Remixed '92 '94 '96 |
| 1998 | Gonna Make U Jump
|
| 1992 | "Jump" | 1 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| ||
| "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" (with Super Cat) | 19 | 97 | — | — | — | — | 8 | — | — | 47 | | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3" Da Bomb | ||
| "I'm Real" | 84 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1994 | "Da Bomb" (with Da Brat) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1995 | "Tonite's tha Night" | 12 | 123 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 48 | — | — | | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2" Young, Rich, & Dangerous | ||
| 1996 | "Live and Die for Hip Hop" | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | 30 | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
| 1993 | Kris Kross | Best New Artist | |
| 1993 | "Jump" | Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group |
|
|
