They were the youngest hip-hop group to gain commercial success, with several charting releases by the ages of 12 and 13 years old, respectively.

The duo saw national recognition the following year with their 1992 debut single, "Jump", which remained atop the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

They went on to release three studio albums; their debut, Totally Krossed Out (1992) peaked atop the US Billboard 200, while their second and third, Da Bomb (1993) and Young, Rich & Dangerous (1996), both entered the top 20.

According to Dupri, Kelly and Smith were not pursuing a record deal and were not rappers or musicians when he met them.

It included the hit single "Jump", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and held that position for eight weeks.

[8] Writes The New York Daily News' Jim Farber: "Together, that was enough to propel the duo's debut album, Totally Krossed Out, to multi-platinum status.

[12] Kris Kross made a cameo appearance in Ted Demme's film Who's the Man?

(1993), which starred rapper Ed Lover and radio personality Doctor Dré of Yo!

[19] Smith studied marketing and business management and founded One Life Entertainment, Inc.[20] Kris Kross' last performance was in their hometown at the Fox Theatre for So So Def's 20th Anniversary concert on February 23, 2013.

[23][24] According to the police report documents, Kelly had been brought home to recover from his drug use, as he had done several times in the past.

According to the Fulton County Medical Examiner Office, the toxicology screening showed that Kelly had a mixture of drugs in his system, including heroin and cocaine.