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<v Speaker 1>Welcome back to the Crash Course Pod. I'm your host,

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<v Speaker 1>Ash Toney, and today we're talking about two kids who

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<v Speaker 1>turned the music world and their clothes completely inside out.

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<v Speaker 1>We're going back to nineteen ninety two, the year of

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<v Speaker 1>the Mac Daddy and the Daddy Mac. We're talking about Crisscross.

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<v Speaker 1>So buckle up and let's get started. At just seventeen,

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<v Speaker 1>not seventeen, twelve years old and thirteen years old, Chris

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<v Speaker 1>Kelly and Chris Smith didn't just have a hit song.

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<v Speaker 1>They had a global movement. But what happens when the

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<v Speaker 1>gimmick fades and the spotlight moves on.

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<v Speaker 2>Today we're looking.

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<v Speaker 1>At the metack meteoric rise of one of the youngest

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<v Speaker 1>acts and the youngest rap duo to ever tap Billboard

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<v Speaker 1>Hot one hundred, the genius of a young Jermaine Dupree,

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<v Speaker 1>and the sobering reality of life after the jump.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's dive in now.

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<v Speaker 1>Every great music story has a discovery movement. For criss Cross,

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<v Speaker 1>it was the Greenbrier Mall in Atlanta in nineteen ninety one.

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<v Speaker 1>A nineteen year old aspiring producer named Jermaine Dupris saw

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<v Speaker 1>two kids with undeniable it factor. Even looking for a

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<v Speaker 1>record deal. They were just hanging out at the mall

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<v Speaker 1>as teens did in the nineties. Dupriest saw the potential

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<v Speaker 1>to create a kid hop duo that actually had street credibility.

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<v Speaker 1>He signed them to his new label, So So Deaf,

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<v Speaker 1>and then went to work.

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<v Speaker 2>What did he go to work on?

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<v Speaker 1>They needed a hook, not just a musical one, but

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<v Speaker 1>a visual one. That's where the backward Clothes came in.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a simple, genius bit of branding that made

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<v Speaker 1>them instantly recognizable in that flashy, iconic in TV era.

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<v Speaker 1>In nineteen ninety two, they released Jump. It wasn't just

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<v Speaker 1>a hit, it was a wrecking ball. I remember I

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<v Speaker 1>was born in ninety one, but I remember the song

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<v Speaker 1>Jump vividly.

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<v Speaker 2>It was everywhere.

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<v Speaker 1>Interesting. The adults around me even liked it.

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<v Speaker 2>It stayed at.

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<v Speaker 1>Number one on Billboard Hot one hundred for eight weeks.

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<v Speaker 1>To put that in perspective, that was the longest run

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<v Speaker 1>at number one for any single in years at a time.

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<v Speaker 1>It was the longest running lull sorry, guys. It was

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<v Speaker 1>the longest number one running single since Black or White

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<v Speaker 1>by Michael Jackson. I think that Jump didn't work just

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<v Speaker 1>because of the kids.

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<v Speaker 2>It was the production.

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<v Speaker 1>Jermaine de presampled the Ohio Players' funky worm, giving it

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<v Speaker 1>a high pitch, infectious whistle that you could hear from

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<v Speaker 1>a mile away if you know, you know, I tried

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<v Speaker 1>to just do it on the spot. It also SAMs

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<v Speaker 1>samples the Jackson fives I Want You Back, the uh

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<v Speaker 1>huh and the beach structure. No no, no, no, no, no,

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<v Speaker 1>no no no, I know, wait no, I just start

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<v Speaker 1>saying Romeo, uh huh. Anyways, take my word for it

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<v Speaker 1>is sample uh huh and the beach structure of I

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<v Speaker 1>Want You Back. They weren't just cute kids. They were

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<v Speaker 1>performing on the Dangerous World tour with Michael Jackson, and

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<v Speaker 1>rumor has it that Michael Jackson like took a liking

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<v Speaker 1>to them. I guess we could say they were friends

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<v Speaker 1>in the industry. Also, the kids Crisscross were everywhere from

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<v Speaker 1>Saturday Night Live to their own video game. Do we

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<v Speaker 1>remember what jump sounds like? I hope I don't get copywritten,

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<v Speaker 1>but are we in favor of a little bit of

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<v Speaker 1>a snippet.

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<v Speaker 2>That's what I was trying to do with my mouth. Anyways,

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<v Speaker 2>moving on.

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<v Speaker 1>In our Backstreet boys and Dojucat episodes we talked about

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<v Speaker 1>mathematical pop and viral hooks.

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<v Speaker 2>If you haven't heard.

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<v Speaker 1>Either of those episodes, go listen to them after this one. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>Crisscross was the ninety two version of a viral sensation,

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<v Speaker 1>and they also had viral hooks and kind of like

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<v Speaker 1>an equation for their success. But unlike a TikTok dance today,

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<v Speaker 1>they had to maintain that momentum through physical touring and

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<v Speaker 1>massive me appearances. Now Here is the crash course lesson.

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<v Speaker 1>The industry is notoriously notorious. Sorry, I just had to

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<v Speaker 1>say that difficult for child stars. As the boys started

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<v Speaker 1>to enter their mid teens, they tried to pivot. In

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<v Speaker 1>ninety three they released The Bomb, and with that they

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<v Speaker 1>traded the kid image for a harder sound. It sold well,

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<v Speaker 1>platinum in fact, but it didn't have the cultural earthquake

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<v Speaker 1>effect of the first record. You know, Bottling up that

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<v Speaker 1>would you say, Flash in a pan of Jump was

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<v Speaker 1>going to be difficult anyway. Like I said about mathematical

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<v Speaker 1>pop and the other episodes, Jump just has this formula

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<v Speaker 1>which makes it in this disputably a viral song. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>sure it will go viral within the next like year

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<v Speaker 1>in twenty twenty six. Especially after this episode Anyways, by

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<v Speaker 1>their third album, Young, Rich and Dangerous in ninety six,

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<v Speaker 1>the landscape of hip hop had changed. The gimmick of

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<v Speaker 1>backwards clothes was gone, and they were trying to be

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<v Speaker 1>taken seriously as adult rappers. This is where many artists

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<v Speaker 1>hit a wall. When your brand is built on being young,

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<v Speaker 1>what do you do when you grow up? And that's

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<v Speaker 1>exactly what they had to figure out. I was looking

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<v Speaker 1>at some reddit at a reddit thread for Crisscross.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's do you guys mind if we take a look

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<v Speaker 2>at it.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's take a look together. So the reddit thread is,

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<v Speaker 1>what are your thoughts on Crisscross and our slash nineties

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<v Speaker 1>hip hop? If you wanted to find it yourself? Anyways,

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<v Speaker 1>someone said they had their place pop rap for sure,

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<v Speaker 1>but they had an infectious sound and birthed a bit

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<v Speaker 1>of a movement of child rap acts. They also had

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<v Speaker 1>grown as men wearing their clothes backwards in the nineties

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<v Speaker 1>Strange times.

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<v Speaker 2>Another one.

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<v Speaker 1>I recently listened to all three of their albums in

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<v Speaker 1>one session, and I have to say I had missed

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<v Speaker 1>out on a lot of good tracks.

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<v Speaker 2>Rip mac Daddy.

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<v Speaker 1>Someone else said, don't try to compare them to another

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<v Speaker 1>bad little fat. I'm a bad little fat. It just

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<v Speaker 1>something that you never had. I make you jump, jump,

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<v Speaker 1>wiggle and shake your rump, all right? Uh, Young Rich

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<v Speaker 1>and Dangerous album was fire. Young Rich and Dangerous was

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<v Speaker 1>highly underrated someone else Those are two different comments. So

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<v Speaker 1>Young Rich and Dangerous. A lot of people liked that album.

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<v Speaker 1>Someone said, can't lie. I loved them as a kid.

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<v Speaker 1>They had a lot of fans wearing their gear backwards.

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<v Speaker 1>Jermaine dupre had a knack of creating stars during that era.

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<v Speaker 1>Even after that era, wasn't he involved or had his

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<v Speaker 1>hand in bow Wow? We need to do a Jermaine

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<v Speaker 1>Dupris episode and a bow Wow episode.

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<v Speaker 2>Stay tuned anyways, I missed the bus.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of people like that song. I missed the bus.

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<v Speaker 2>I missed the bus, and I missed the bus.

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<v Speaker 1>I missed the bus and that's something I would never,

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<v Speaker 1>never ever do again.

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<v Speaker 2>How does it go? All I remember is.

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<v Speaker 1>I was up, he was up, but I laid back down,

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<v Speaker 1>thinking not get chilled till the time came around, and

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<v Speaker 1>he did. He did for a little too long because

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<v Speaker 1>when I woke up, Yo, the bus was gone. I

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<v Speaker 1>almost broke my neck trying to get out the door,

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<v Speaker 1>and I chased the bus to my feet. Whistle something

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<v Speaker 1>something in the trail, the trial, something some something.

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<v Speaker 2>I no noth I missed my buss again. I missed

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<v Speaker 2>my bus.

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<v Speaker 1>I remember that song. I don't know how I remember

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<v Speaker 1>these from being a child literally was born in ninety one.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know how I remember this stuff. Someone else said,

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<v Speaker 1>without Crisscross, there's no June twenty seven beat, and without

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<v Speaker 1>June twenty seven choptain Screw doesn't become a major thing.

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<v Speaker 1>Someone said, hum, every album they got, they got better.

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<v Speaker 1>Young Rich and Dangerous is very slept on, close to

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<v Speaker 1>classic album. So I think I like stuff of all Off.

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<v Speaker 1>All their albums. Jump is a classic, The Bomb and

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<v Speaker 1>All Right featuring super Cat were solid tracks, and the

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<v Speaker 1>third album had some bangers. To Nights the Night and

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<v Speaker 1>Live and Die For hip Hop still sound great today.

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<v Speaker 1>Young Rich and Dangerous is the consensus. A lot of

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<v Speaker 1>people say that it's slept on, So maybe take out

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<v Speaker 1>your pens, take out your pans, and write down that

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<v Speaker 1>album by Chris Cross, Young Rich and Dangerous.

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<v Speaker 2>So let's continue.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, the Crisscross story has a tragic final chapter. In

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<v Speaker 1>twenty thirteen, the duo reunited for the Soco Deaf twentieth

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<v Speaker 1>Anniversary concert and they performed Jump Close Backwards and for

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<v Speaker 1>a moment, the.

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<v Speaker 2>Magic was back.

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<v Speaker 1>But just three months later, Chris Kelly the mag Daddy

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<v Speaker 1>passed away at the age of thirty four. I'm thirty

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<v Speaker 1>four today, right now, that's so yeah, as someone who's

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<v Speaker 1>the same age. That actually is more of a tragedy

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<v Speaker 1>than some might think of.

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<v Speaker 2>Anyways.

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<v Speaker 1>The rumor is that Chris Kelly's death was attributed to

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<v Speaker 1>an overdose, and I don't know if that's true or not,

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<v Speaker 1>but regardless, it's a stark reminder of the pressures and

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<v Speaker 1>the dark side of the music industry, especially for those

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<v Speaker 1>who find massive fame before they even reach high school.

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<v Speaker 1>We can take away something from this. Crisscross's legacy isn't

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<v Speaker 1>just a funny nineties trend. It's a story about the

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<v Speaker 1>power of branding, the brilliance of Atlanta's hip hop scene,

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<v Speaker 1>and the human cost of being larger than life. At

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<v Speaker 1>twelve years old, Chris Smith continues to honor Kelly's legacy today,

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<v Speaker 1>reminding us that even when the music stops, the of

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<v Speaker 1>the Chris to Chris partnership with Real Let's take a

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<v Speaker 1>look at some songs that they have. Let's see here,

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<v Speaker 1>so if we look back at Young Rich and Dangerous,

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<v Speaker 1>since that seems to be a slept on album. It

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<v Speaker 1>was their final studio album and it's widely considered their

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<v Speaker 1>most mature work, leaning heavily into the socio death Atlanta sound.

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<v Speaker 1>So we have the biggest hit from the album, which

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<v Speaker 1>is Tonight's The Night. It's a smooth, mid tempo track

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<v Speaker 1>that sample Phase Oh's writing high. It spent weeks at

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<v Speaker 1>number one on Hot Rap Songs chart on the Hot

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<v Speaker 1>Rap Songs Chart and showed their growth from the heigh

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<v Speaker 1>energy jump. Then we have Live and Die for hip Hop,

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<v Speaker 1>which is an absolute classic for nineties heads. It features

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<v Speaker 1>Aliyah on backing vocals The Brat and Jamaine Depris. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a tribute to the culture and has a very soulful,

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<v Speaker 1>laid back vibe. Also Young Rich and Dangerous, the title

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<v Speaker 1>track is a high energy anthem that defines the era.

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<v Speaker 2>It features Big Group.

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<v Speaker 1>And De Brat and serves as their coming of age statement.

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<v Speaker 1>We also have Money, Power and Fame, which is a

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<v Speaker 1>standout track produced by the duo themselves Crisscross. It samples

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<v Speaker 1>ll cooj's I Need Love and highlights their perspective on

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<v Speaker 1>the industry as they were transitioning into adulthood. And then

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<v Speaker 1>we have the Streets An't Right, And it showed a

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<v Speaker 1>much grittier side of the duo. It fames, It samples

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<v Speaker 1>the romantics talking in your sleep and Notorious Pig's warning

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<v Speaker 1>And that's your crash course on Crisscross. Tune in to

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<v Speaker 1>the next episode