by: Philip Trapp
By mid-decade 1990s, breakout hip-hop youth duo Kris Kross were already discounted as novelty in the minds of most music fans. Bursting onto the scene in 1992 with their infectious No. 1 hit, "Jump," Atlanta teen rappers Chris Kelly ("Mac Daddy") and Chris Smith ("Daddy Mac"), guided by then-unknown writer and producer Jermaine Dupri, created an ephemeral pop culture smash that moved over 2 million units. It also branded them a one-hit wonder, ex-post-facto, a juvenile gimmick.
Twelve and 13 years old when they recorded "Jump," its parent album and Kris Kross' debut LP, Totally Krossed Out, sold 4 million copies on the strength of that single and succeeding jams like "Warm It Up," "I Missed the Bus" and "It's a Shame." 1993's follow-up album, Da Bomb, sadly embodied its moniker as far as critics and mainstreamers were concerned; the green but confident display of gangsta rap fell on deaf ears, selling a quarter of the amount of its trendy predecessor.
And it truly is a shame, because their third and final album, 1996's Young, Rich & Dangerous, is possibly the Chrises' (and, perhaps, Dupri's) finest record. Coming into their own as rappers by the post-pubescent epoch of ages 16 and 17, and further coalescing with Dupri's progressive G-funk production style, Dangerous is not only the Kris Kross swan song but a practically unheard -- and now unfortunately forgotten -- Southern-aping-West-Coast, feel-good, hip-hop masterpiece.
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