Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly

Kris Kross was an American rap duo of the 1990s comprising Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith. The duo was best known for their hit 1992 song "Jump", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100for eight weeks and was certified double platinum as a single. Kris Kross was also noted for their fashion style, which consisted of wearing their clothing backwards. The duo sang the "Rugrats Rap" for Nickelodeon which was released as extras on some Nickelodeon VHS Tapes starting in 1994, and was finally released on CD on The Best of Nicktoons in 1998, and was released as an extra on the Rugrats: Decade in Diapers Collectors Edition DVD in 2002.

Career

Atlanta natives Kelly (August 11, 1978 - May 1, 2013) and Smith (born January 10, 1979) were discovered in 1990 by 18-year-old Jermaine Dupri at an Atlanta shopping mall. Along with Dupri they signed a deal withRuffhouse Records, and recorded their debut album Totally Krossed Out. Entirely produced by Dupri, Totally Krossed Out, was released March 31, 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 follow-up 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" andTLC'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. Large and in charge.

In 1992, a video game 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 theUnited 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".

Kris Kross recorded the "Rugrats Rap" for Rugrats and for Nickelodeon, that was released in 1994 as extras on some Nickelodeon VHS tapes, and was finally released on CD in 1998, on The Best of Nicktoons CD. The Rugrats Rap is available on the Rugrats Chuckie the Brave VHS, Harriet the Spy VHS,The Best of Nicktoons CD which is a compilation album of theme songs and other material from several Nicktoons that was released by Nickelodeon and Kid Rhino in 1998, Rugrats: Decade in Diapers Collectors Edition DVD, and Youtube.

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".

The group separated some time after their third album and went on to have solo careers. Kris Kross reunited for So So Def's 20th Anniversary concert in 2013.

Chris Kelly was found dead in his Atlanta home on May 1, 2013. He was 34. According to the Fulton County Medical Examiner, Kelly was discovered unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at Atlanta Medical Center shortly after 8 p.m. EDT. The cause of death has not been determined.

Studio albums Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications (sales threshold) US   US R&B   AUS   AUT   SWE   UK   1992 Totally Krossed Out

• First studio album
• Release date: March 17, 1992
• Label: Ruffhouse/Columbia Records

1 1 7 33 30 31

• CAN: 3× Platinum
• US: 4× Platinum

1993 Da Bomb

• Second studio album
• Release date: August 3, 1993
• Label: Ruffhouse/Columbia Records

13 2 — — — —

• CAN: Gold
• US: Platinum

1996 Young, Rich & Dangerous

• Third studio album
• Release date: January 9, 1996
• Label: Ruffhouse/Columbia Records

15 2 — — — —

• US: Gold

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 Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications (sales threshold) Album US   US Rap   US R&B   US Dance   AUS   SWE   UK   1992 "Jump" 1 1 2 13 1 2 2

• US: 2× Platinum

Totally Krossed Out "Warm It Up" 13 1 3 23 21 34 16

• US: Gold

"I Missed the Bus" 63 17 29 — — — 57   "It's a Shame" — 11 55 — — — 31   1993 "Alright" 19 1 8 40 — — 47

• US: Gold

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

Young, Rich, & Dangerous 1996 "Live and Die for Hip Hop" 72 11 36 — — — —   "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Personal

On May 1, 2013 Chris Kelly, or as he was known by his moniker "Mac Daddy," was found unresponsive in his Atlanta home. Kelly was pronounced dead around 5 p.m on the south campus of the Atlanta Medical Center. Kelly was 34 years of age.