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Kriss Kross The Rise and Challenges of Hip-Hop Duo Chris Mac Daddy Kelly and Chris Daddy Mac Smith

January, 09, 2025-03:40

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Kriss Kross The Rise and Challenges of Hip-Hop Duo Chris Mac Daddy Kelly and Chris Daddy Mac Smith

The two childhood friends from Atlanta were spotted by 18-year-old music producer Jermaine Dupri while they were at a local mall. Impressed by their distinctive style, Dupri signed them to his So Def label, despite their lack of prior musical ambitions. Kriss Kross became iconic for their fashion choices, often wearing their pants and baseball caps backward. However, as they matured and attempted to adopt tougher personas, they seemed to lose the interest of their fans.

"Jump" dominated the Billboard Hot 100 for an impressive eight weeks, while their debut album, "Totally Crossed Out," sold over 4 million copies. The music video for "Jump" also achieved significant success, reaching number one on MTV and selling over 100,000 copies as a VHS. As their fame grew, Kriss Kross secured a spot on Michael Jackson's Dangerous world tour and made a cameo in his hit music video "Jam."

Additionally, they formed a partnership with Sprite and released their own SEGA video game, which unfortunately ranked 18th on the list of the '20 Worst Games of All Time.' Their rise to fame was not without controversy, as they found themselves in a rivalry with fellow rap groups Da Youngster and Illegal, who criticized them as 'manufactured' due to Jermaine writing their entire debut album.

In a 1993 interview with 4080 magazine, members of Illegal were asked about rumors of a confrontation with Kriss Kross. They responded, "We were at Ed Lover's birthday party. We performed that night. Nobody was paying them any attention, and everyone was trying to meet us. They couldn't stand that."They began to take the stage with their outdated material. We confronted them, and Jermaine Dupri made a sarcastic remark, prompting Jamal to retaliate. Following that, we overwhelmed them and delivered a decisive blow.

Despite their early achievements, the duo faced challenges with their follow-up album, Da Bomb, released in 1993, which attempted to present a more hardened persona. As they matured and their voices deepened, most of the tracks targeted their competitors, Da Youngstas and Illegal, but the album did not achieve platinum status. Three years later, they launched Young, Rich & Dangerous, which, despite receiving some favorable critiques, ultimately marked the end of Kriss Kross' discography.

Once again led by Dupri, the album produced singles such as "Tonite's the Night" and "Live and Die for Hip-Hop," the latter featuring Aaliyah.