Kris Kross
| Kris Kross | |
|---|---|
Kris Kross (Smith on left; Kelly at right) in 1996
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Years active | 1991–2001 2013 (reunion) |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
| Past members | Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly (deceased) |
Kris Kross was an American hip hop duo formed in the early 1990s and consisting of Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith. The duo hit worldwide status with their 1992 smash hit, "Jump", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and was certified double platinum as a single. The duo released three albums, with their debut album Totally Krossed Out topping the US Billboard 200, and their following albums, Da Bomb and Young, Rich & Dangerous making it into the Top 20. The duo were also noted for their fashion style as they would wear their clothes backwards.
The friendship of Atlanta natives James Christopher Kelly (August 11, 1978 – May 1, 2013) and Christopher Smith (born January 10, 1979) began in first grade. The duo were discovered at an Atlanta shopping mall in 1991 by then 19-year-old Jermaine Dupri.
Along with Dupri, the two signed a deal with Ruffhouse Records and recorded their debut album Totally Krossed Out (1992). Entirely produced by Dupri, Totally Krossed Out was released March 31 that year and sold four million copies in the U.S. It included the hit single "Jump", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks, "becoming the first rap song to have achieved so long a run at the top. No other rap song had led the chart for that length of time."
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, 'Totally Krossed Out', to multi-platinum status."
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