- Kris Kross
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Kris Kross Origin Atlanta, Georgia, United States Genres Hip hop Years active 1990–1996 2011-present Labels So So Def/Ruffhouse/Columbia Records Associated acts Da Brat
Jermaine Dupri
Super Cat
Michael JacksonMembers Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly
Chris "Daddy Mac" SmithKris Kross was an American rap duo of the 1990s comprising Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith. The duo are best known for their hit 1992 song "Jump", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and was certified double platinum as a single. Kris Kross was also noted for their unique fashion style, which consisted of wearing their clothing backwards.
Contents
Career
Atlanta natives Kelly (born August 11, 1978) and Smith (born January 10, 1979) were childhood friends, discovered in 1990 by 18-year-old Jermaine Dupri at an Atlanta shopping mall.[1][2]
Their Dupri-produced debut album, Totally Krossed Out, was released in 1992 and sold four million copies in the U.S. 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 World Tour, as well as a cameo appearance on Jackson's "Jam" music video. The music videos from their own 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' and the video for their followup single "Warm It Up", also directed by Murray won a Billboard video award for "Best New Artist". 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, and the closing musical act on May 29, 1992 episode of In Living Color.
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".[3]
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".
Discography
Studio albums
Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)US
[4]US R&B
[5]AUS
[6]AUT
[7]SWE
[8]UK
[9]1992 Totally Krossed Out - First studio album
- Release date: March 17, 1992
- Label: Ruffhouse/Columbia Records
1 1 7 33 30 31 1993 Da Bomb - Second studio album
- Release date: August 3, 1993
- Label: Ruffhouse/Columbia Records
13 2 — — — — 1996 Young, Rich & Dangerous - Third studio album
- Release date: January 9, 1996
- Label: Ruffhouse/Columbia Records
15 2 — — — — - US: Gold[11]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart Remix albums
Year Album details 1996 Best of Kris Kross Remixed '92 '94 '96 - First remix album
- Release date: November 26, 1996
- Label: Ruffhouse/Columbia Records
Compilation albums
Year Album details 1998 Gonna Make U Jump - First compilation album
- Release date: April 28, 1998
- Label: Ruffhouse/Columbia Records
Singles
- US: Gold[18]
Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)Album US
[12]US Rap
[13]US R&B
[14]US Dance
[15]AUS
[16]SWE
[17]UK
[9]1992 "Jump" 1 1 2 13 1 2 2 Totally Krossed Out "Warm It Up" 13 1 3 23 21 34 16 - US: Gold[18]
"I Missed the Bus" 63 17 29 — — — 57 "It's a Shame" — 11 55 — — — 31 1993 "Alright" 19 1 8 40 — — 47 - US: Gold[18]
Da Bomb "I'm Real" 84 8 45 — — — — 1994 "Da Bomb" (with Da Brat) — 25 74 — — — — 1995 "Tonite's tha Night" 12 1 6 — — — — - US: Gold[18]
Young, Rich, & Dangerous 1996 "Live and Die for Hip Hop" 72 11 36 — — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart References
- ^ http://www.legacyrecordings.com/Kris-Kross.aspx
- ^ The Billboard book of number 1 hits - Google Books. Books.google.com. http://books.google.com/books?id=PgGqNrqfrsoC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
- ^ "EGM's Crapstravaganza: The 20 Worst Games of All Time". Seanbaby.com. http://www.seanbaby.com/nes/egm18.htm. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
- ^ "Kris Kross Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/kris-kross/chart-history/1046?f=305&g=Albums. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
- ^ "Kris Kross Album & Song Chart History - R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/kris-kross/chart-history/1046?f=333&g=Albums. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
- ^ "australian-charts.com - Australian charts portal". australian-charts.com. http://www.australian-charts.com/search.asp?search=kris+kross&cat=a. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
- ^ "austriancharts.at - Austria Top 40". austriancharts.at. http://www.austriancharts.at/search.asp?search=kris+kross&cat=a. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com - Swedish charts portal". swedishcharts.com. http://www.swedishcharts.com/search.asp?search=kris+kross&cat=a. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
- ^ a b "Chart Stats - Kris Kross". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=6525. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
- ^ a b "Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA): Gold & Platinum". Canadian Recording Industry Association. http://www.cria.ca/goldplat.php. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
- ^ a b c "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - September 19, 2010: Kris Kross certified singles". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=Kris%20Kross&format=ALBUM&go=Search&perPage=50. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
- ^ "Kris Kross Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/kris-kross/chart-history/1046. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
- ^ "allmusic ((( Kris Kross > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p59/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
- ^ "Kris Kross Album & Song Chart History - R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/kris-kross/chart-history/1046?f=367&g=Singles. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
- ^ "Kris Kross Album & Song Chart History - Dance/Club Songs". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/kris-kross/chart-history/1046?f=359&g=Singles. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
- ^ "australian-charts.com - Australian charts portal". australian-charts.com. http://www.australian-charts.com/search.asp?cat=s&search=kris+kross. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com - Swedish charts portal". swedishcharts.com. http://www.swedishcharts.com/search.asp?cat=s&search=kris+kross. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - September 19, 2010: Kris Kross certified singles". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=Kris%20Kross&format=SINGLE&go=Search&perPage=50. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
External links
- One Life Entertainment Chris Smith's official website
- HipHop.sh The 411 on ATL's Kris Kross
- Kris Kross at Legacy Recordings
- Chris Kelly at BlackHistoryDaily.com
Categories:- American hip hop groups
- Musical duos
- African American rappers
- Rappers from Atlanta, Georgia
- People from Atlanta, Georgia
- Columbia Records artists
- Musical groups established in 1991
- Musical groups disestablished in 1996
- Musical groups reestablished in 2007
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