In the '90s Kris Kross Were Poised to Become Hip Hop Heavyweights

What Happened ?

In February 1992 the world was introduced to Kris Kross, the teenage rap duo known for wearing their clothes backwards and their massive hit Jump.

The song featuring 13-year-old best friends Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly and Chris “Daddy Mac” Smith spent eight weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 and propelled the two to the verge of superstardom. 

At the 1993 American Music Awards, Kris Kross won best new artist in the Soul/R&B category and were nominated for Favorite Rap/Hip Hop artist.

Even though they lost that one to Sir Mix-A-Lot the young rappers received tons of love at the show. 

When a surprised Sir Mix-A-Lot took the stage he said “I personally thought Kris Kross – you know, 5 million records sold – had it wrapped up.  Kris Kross to me, they’re awesome.  They’re amazing.  They’ll be around a long time.”

Also at the AMA’s, Hip Hop legend Run-DMC had praise for the young duo.  He said “Kris Kross is our future, rap’s future.  I’m proud of them.  Being one of the founders of rap makes me feel good that it’s in their hands.”

In 1990, the now legendary producer Jermaine Dupri discovered Kelly and Smith at Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall. The pair had lined up to have their shoe boxes signed and Dupri who was just 19 at the time, noticed the boys natural charisma, crazy clothes and slow fade hair styles. 

Dupri saw something in the young duo and wanted to work with them. Together they produced a demo tape that led to a deal with Ruffhouse Records.

Their first album Totally Krossed Out was entirely written by Dupri and included the mega hit “Jump.”  It went multiplatinum and led to a European tour with Michael Jackson in the summer of 1992. The guys also appeared in the MJ video for “Jam” alongside Heavy D and Michael Jordan,

In 1992 and 1993 Kris Kross were ubiquitous appearing on Arsenio Hall, In Living Color, The Today Show, Good Morning America, A Current Affair, as well as numerous kids shows. 

They showed up in videos for Run DMC and TLC, recorded the “Rugrats Rap” for the Nickelodeon cartoon and even had their own video game for the Sega CD console called Kriss Kross: Make My Video which incidentally has been listed as one of 20 worst video games of all time.

And who can forget the hordes of pre-teens who began wearing their insanely baggy clothes backwards to match the Totally Krossed Out style of Kelly and Smith. 

But despite the accolades and love Kris Kross never managed to make that leap from kid rappers to adult hit makers. 

As Kelly and Smith got older, they tried to toughen their image and it just didn’t translate. Though they released two moderately successful albums, Da Bomb in 1993 and Young, Rich and Dangerous in 1996 they never had another hit like “Jump.”  They broke up in the late 90s. 

In February 2013 the pair reunited for one night at a 20th anniversary party for Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def record label.

Then sadly just three months later Chris Kelly died from a drug overdose in Atlanta.  He was 34-years-old.

The legacy of Kris Kross lives on.  Their fresh sound that combined hard rap rhythms with bubble gum pop melodies helped to make rap more palatable to the mainstream. 

Their success also broke the dominance of hip hop acts originating from the east coast or west coast and helped pave the way for the emergence of Atlanta artists like Arrested Development and Outkast. 

And Daddy Mac / Mac Daddy can still make you jump.