''Totally Krossed Out'' is the debut studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

by American hip hop duo

Kris Kross Kris Kross was an American hip hop duo that consisted of Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith. Kris Kross was the youngest hip-hop duo to gain success, with gold and platinum albums at 12 and 13 years old. The duo was discover ...

. It was produced and largely written by

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

and Joe "The Butcher" Nicolo and released on March 31, 1992, by

Ruffhouse Records Ruffhouse Records is an American record label founded in 1989 by Chris Schwartz and Joe Nicolo as a joint venture with Columbia Records. In 1999, Schwartz and Nicolo closed the label, and Schwartz and Kevon Glickman continued with RuffNation ...

and Columbia Records. After developing a musical concept for the duo, Dupri and Nicolo spent two years writing and producing the album.

Commercial performance

''Totally Krossed Out'' was a huge success for the duo, selling over four million copies and reaching No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...

chart, where it remained for two and six non-consecutive weeks respectively. Four singles were released, including "

Jump Jumping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jump or Jumping also may refer to: Places * Jump, Kentucky or Jump S ...

" and " Warm It Up", both of which reached No. 1 on the

Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stati ...

, and " I Missed the Bus" and " It's a Shame". The album was certified 4× platinum by the RIAA. Music videos were released for the four singles and for "The Way of Rhyme", even though the song was not released as a single.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'', the music critic Robert Christgau gave the album an "A−" and praised Dupri for "avoiding BBD's girl-bashing and

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's kiddie escapism" in his lyrics for the duo. He found the music "ebullient" and suited for Kris Kross' "preadolescent tempos and timbres". "Jump" was voted the third best single of 1992 in ''The Village Voice''s annual

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abs ...

critics' poll. Christgau, the poll's creator, named it the best single of the year in his own year-end list and also ranked "Warm It Up" at number four. In a retrospective review,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

's Steve Huey gave the album four out of five stars and said that Dupri "delivers a catchy, pop-friendly batch of tracks that manage to stay pretty consistently engaging (perhaps in part because they are short)".

Track listing

All songs written and produced by

and Joe "The Butcher" Nicolo, except where noted. #"Intro Interview" – 0:51 #"

" (Jermaine Dupri, Joe "The Butcher" Nicolo, The Corporation, Ohio Players,

Roy C Roy Charles Hammond (August 3, 1939 – September 16, 2020), better known as Roy C or Roy "C", was an American southern soul singer, songwriter and record executive, best known for his 1965 hit, "Shotgun Wedding". Another song, "Impeach the Presi ...

, Cypress Hill,

Lowell Fulson Lowell Fulson (March 31, 1921March 7, 1999) was an American blues guitarist and songwriter, in the West Coast blues tradition. He also recorded for contractual reasons as Lowell Fullsom and Lowell Fulsom. After T-Bone Walker, he was the most imp ...

Jimmy McCracklin James David Walker Jr. (August 13, 1921 – December 20, 2012), better known by his stage name Jimmy McCracklin, was an American pianist, vocalist, and songwriter. His style contained West Coast blues, Jump blues, and R&B. Over a career tha ...

, James Brown,

Schoolly D Jesse Bonds Weaver Jr. (born June 22, 1962), better known by the stage name Schoolly D (sometimes spelled Schooly D), is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Career Schoolly D teamed up with DJ Code Money in the mid-1980s. His ...

, Naughty by Nature,

Herb Rooney Herbert Louis Rooney (born 1940 - c. early 1990s) was an American record producer who was responsible for writing, producing and singing bass on songs by the Exciters and for writing and producing the sample staple Synthetic Substitution by Melvin ...

) – 3:15 #"Lil' Boys in da Hood" – 3:05 #" Warm It Up" – 4:08 #"The Way of Rhyme" – 2:59 #"Party" (Jermaine Dupri, Joe "The Butcher" Nicolo, George Clinton (funk musician), George Clinton, Garry Shider, David Spradley) – 4:02 #"We're in da House" – 0:39 #"A Real Bad Dream" – 1:58 #" It's a Shame" – 3:46 #"Can't Stop the Bum Rush" – 2:57 #"You Can't Get With This" – 2:24 #" I Missed the Bus" – 2:59 #"Outro" – 0:43 #"Party" (Krossed Mix) – 4:10 #"Jump" (Extended Mix) – 5:10

Personnel

Credits are adapted from

. * Glenn Barratt – editing * Walt Bass – background vocals * Stacey Blackmore – background vocals * Tony Dawsey – mastering * Curtis Dowd, Jr. – keyboards * Jermaine Dupri – arranger, background vocals, bass, executive producer, producer, programming * Joe "The Butcher" Nicolo – arranger, engineer, drums, bass, percussion, producer, programming * Seldon "Big Wally" Henderson – keyboards * John Hodian – engineer * Frank Hogan – background vocals * Charlene Holloway – background vocals * Paula Holloway – background vocals * Dave Johnson – background vocals * Kris Kelly – vocals * Andy Kravitz – percussion * Kris Kross – vocals * Lady G. – background vocals * Manuel Lecuona – background vocals * Rose Mann – background vocals * Joe Nicolo – engineer, executive producer, programming * Phil Nicolo – engineer * Jim "Jiff" Ninger – background vocals * Jimmy O'Neil – assistant engineer * Jim Salamone – drums, keyboards * Mark Schulz – background vocals * Terry Shelton – voices * Silk Tymes Leather – background vocals * Eddie Weather – background vocals * X-Man – background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1992 debut albums Kris Kross albums Albums produced by Jermaine Dupri Ruffhouse Records albums