By Dan Kinem

As I’m sure everyone knows, there haven’t been many reviews recently because Dabeedo and I have been working on Adjust Your Tracking and also have been finishing up this year of college. However, when I was blindsided by certain devastating news late last week, I knew that I had to come out of mild hiatus to pay my respects… If “’cause I’m the miggity-miggity-miggity-miggity-Mac Daddy” doesn’t ring a bell then please end your life before I have to do it for you. You obviously don’t know the first thing about true hip hop or the musical art form as a whole. So for all y’all suckas that don’t know… CHECK IT OUT!


HARD.

The hip hop duo Kriss Kross (Mac Daddy and Daddy Mac) blew up the rap game way back in ’92 when producer/hip hop mogul Jermaine Dupri plucked them out of obscurity. They quickly dropped their first full-length album, Totally Krossed Out — a bona fide masterpiece of dope lyricism, clever metaphors, and unique style, a style which consisted of their trend-setting backwards attire and short dreads. Off that album came hits like “I Missed the Bus,” “Warm It Up,” and of course, “Jump.” The success of this album was astronomical. Shit went platinum in like a millisecond and with this success came the release of something that was popular for about as long as Kriss Kross was: The VHS music single. “Jump” was such a banger it of course needed its own VHS release featuring the music video, the remix, and interviews with the legends themselves. A whopping total of 14 minutes for your hard earned 30+ bucks.

This tape has been making the rounds in my video playlist for a long time now. I’ve busted it out multiple times while hanging out, much to Joel’s (getaway driver) and my girlfriend’s chagrin. They just don’t understand the charm of Mac Daddy and Daddy Mac, or at least they pretend not to understand until “Jump” kicks on and everyone in the room is bouncin’ to the fucking ceiling. Shit is fire and that fire has stayed lit to this day despite people constantly trying to put the song and the group down. This VHS proves why Kriss Kross is timeless and why anyone who disagrees is wiggity-wiggity-wiggity-whack!



The tape opens with an interview with the duo about their style. They explain that wearing their pants and shirts backwards just “looks right” to them and that they’d wear their shoes backwards but sadly they can’t… “obviously.” We even get a brief glimpse of a super cool-looking Asian dude biting their fashion style as well as some dude on the schoolyard rockin’ Kriss Kross’s patented backwards overall-look.



Then we are treated to the classic video for “Jump.” One of the all-time greatest club hits. There’s not a person who can hear this jam and not jump out their shoes. It has that sick G-Funk distorted horn sound and vinyl scratch. Their rap style is a mix between Das EFX and some Naughty by Nature but by two 13-year-olds. Without them you would have never seen anyone like Lil Bow Wow, Lil Romeo, or even Justin “The King” Bieber. They completely opened up that lane to the mainstream in the same way Vanilla Ice gave whities hope.



Next, they explain how not only is their music totally positive, it’s completely hardcore hip hop. Couldn’t agree more. They manage to tap into that rare positive hardcore rap group that few have been able to pull off. Not only can they roast you on the mic but they’ll teach you how important going to school is.

Sadly, the “Jump” remix leaves much to be desired. Not only are there no new verses by Kriss Kross or features, but half the song is identical to the original. There’s only a couple moments where the beat switches. Their goal was to extend the song for the dance clubs, and while admirable and necessary, this wasn’t the way to do that. It loses a lot of the charm and would have made much more sense to add some new verses.



Lastly, they show an inside glimpse into their family, friends, and the hordes of girls that want to sleep with them. As the final credits roll, and a fan feels the need to remind us that “hip hop is here to stay,” we are left wanting much more. Overall, the video is much too short, rather pointless to own today with the internet, and takes up too much space, but it is totally krossed out and totally amazing. No VHS collection is complete without this piece of 90s gold.



Now, you must be asking yourself, “But Dan, what was the news that made you have to review this great piece of video art?” Well, I regret to inform everyone that on May 1^st, Mac Daddy (aka Chris Kelly) was found dead from a drug overdose. It took me a couple days to even bring myself to pop on one of their jams I was so saddened by the news. He was only 34 and my personal favorite of the group. Not only did he rap some of my favorite verses of all-time and craft some of the most fun songs in hip hop that made me who I am today, he and his partner also recorded the infamous “Rugrats Rap” for Nickelodeon that can be found on many of the old Nick tapes out there. I will forever miss you and in honor of your legacy I will be wearin’ my clothes backwards the rest of the week.

I will leave you all with this classic Mac Daddy verse:

“So many times I heard you rhyme but you can’t touch this
I’m kicking the type of flow that makes you say ‘You’re too much Chris’
So feel the fire of the one they call the Mac Dad
The fire’s what I pack and what I pack is real bad
I’d like to grab a hold of your soul and never let go
Never ‘til they jump, ‘til they say Hoooo
Now that’s the state of mind I’m in huh…
With rhyme after rhyme I win
The Mac, The Mac
‘Nuff for breakin’ ‘em off somethin’
They layin’ in the back and front
Keepin’ the speakers pumpin’
The miggity-miggity-miggity-Mac came to get a warm
And my pants to the back that’s my everyday uniform
You little cream puff Mac Daddy wannabe
Keep dreaming cause the Mac you will never be
So all y’all with the Dr. Seuss riddles
You can get the finger… the middle”

You grabbed my soul and I’ll never let you go. <3