Kris Kross was an American hip hop duo that consisted of Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith. Kris Kross was the youngest hip-hop duo to gain success, with gold and platinum albums, at 12 and 13 years old. They have been referenced on the albums or songs of Eminem, Dr. Dre, 2Pac, Method Man, and many more. The duo was discovered by Jermaine Dupri in 1991 and hit worldwide status the following year with their smash hit debut single, "Jump", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and was certified double platinum as a single. They went on to release three studio albums, with their debut albumTotally 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 signature fashion style of wearing their clothes backwards. Chris Kelly died of a drug overdose in 2013.
History
The friendship of Atlanta natives James Christopher Kelly and Christopher Smith began in first grade. The duo was discovered at an Atlanta shopping mall in 1991 by then 19-year-old Jermaine Dupri.
''Totally Krossed Out,'' 1992
Along with Dupri, the two signed a deal with Ruffhouse Records and recorded their debut album Totally Krossed Out. 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 album, Totally Krossed Out, to multi-platinum status."
Michael Jackson tour and additional media projects (1992–1998)
The duo landed a spot on Michael Jackson's 1992 European Dangerous World Tour as well as a cameo appearance on Jackson's music video for his 1992 single "Jam". Additionally, they made appearances in the music videos for Run-D.M.C.'s "Down with the King" and TLC's "Hat 2 da Back", and they were featured in an episode of A Different World and as the closing musical act on the May 29, 1992 episode of In Living Color. 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. The game was released only in the United States to poor sales figures and dismal reviews. 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?, which starred rapper Ed Lover and radio personality Doctor Dré of Yo! MTV Raps'' fame.
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".
Kris Kross' last performance was in their hometown at the Fox Theatre for So So Def's 20th Anniversary concert in 2013.
Death of Chris Kelly
On April 29, 2013, Chris Kelly was found unconscious in his Atlanta home and taken to the hospital. Two days later he was pronounced dead on May 1 around 5 p.m. on the south campus of the Atlanta Medical Center; he was 34 years old. 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." The following day, Dupri tweeted a "letter to fans", in which he referred to Kelly as "a son that I never had", and praised Kelly as an artist. 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. Kelly is buried at the Westview Cemetery in Atlanta.
