Not Jumping For Joy

Unfortunately, it is once again time to turn the weekly musical interlude into a "Musician Who Died This Week" tribute post. And this one is especially sad because the musician is 34 year-old Chris Kelly, better known as "Mac Daddy", one half of the 90s hip-hop duo Kriss Kross. I have to say, it's always a little unnerving when a famous person around my age dies, especially when they have also been in the public eye for as long as the guys from Kriss Kross who burst onto the scene when they were barely teenagers. The act's first and biggest hit is one of those songs which everyone of a certain age owned, usually the casingle version. Even now it remains on most iPods, as it is still a party anthem to this day because it is so catchy. The bad news for Kriss Kross was that they hit it big just as the rap game started to change over to more hardcore gangster style. They tried to adapt with the times and their next couple of albums definitely had an edgier feel to them but even though the albums had some good sales numbers, it just didn't work as work as well and Kriss Kross couldn't make a successful transition. Plus, I would imagine it is hard when people think you peaked at 13, so I was far from surprised to learn the group officially broke up in the early 2000s.

But even more than their music or the lingering question of what may have been if they had better timing, Kriss Kross is probably better known for their personal style which involved wearing their clothes backwards. Yes, don't ask me why, but the duo would always have their pants on backwards (but at least they would be pulled up). Since this was the early-90s some parents were concerned it may have been some kind of gang symbol, when the reality is that the pair were probably told to do this by some record executive who thought it would be a way for them to stand out from the crowd (and they were right). But even crazier than the fact that these guys were convinced this looked good is the fact that they actually influenced people to do this on their own in real life. Seriously, some people put their clothes on backwards on purpose and then walked out in public. If they did that now we would think they were crazy. Fortunately I can proudly say this was one trend I never got into because I would not want pictures of me looking like that floating around. It just serves as another reminder for a lesson we never should have forgotten in the first place - kids can be very easily influenced into looking like idiots.