James Christopher Kelly was born on the 11th August 1978, in Atlanta, Georgia USA, and was an American rapper, and one half of the iconic rap duo Kris Kross. Together with his best friend and rap partner Chris “Daddy Mac” Smith, Kelly released three albums in the course of their ten-years-long career. Their debut album, “Totally Crossed Out” (1992) was an instant success, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Kelly died from a drug overdose in 2013.
Have you ever wondered how rich Chris Kelly was at the time of his death? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Kelly’s net worth was as high as $100,000, an amount earned through his successful career as a rapper which began in the early 1990s.
Chris Kelly Net Worth $100,000
There is surprisingly little known about Kelly’s early life. He was discovered with his friend Chris Smith by the famous producer Jermaine Dupri when they were both teenagers. Though Dupri himself was only nineteen at the time, he would go on to produce such music stars as Mariah Carey, Usher, Jay-Z, Nelly, Janet Jackson, and Aretha Franklin. Although Kelly had no experience with rapping before, both he and Smith wanted to become rap stars.
They were signed on by Ruffhouse Records in 1992, after which they recorded their first album, “Totally Crossed Out”. The album sold more than four million copies in the US alone, while their hit single “Jump” spent eight weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It made history as the first rap song to lead the chart for such a long time, and it was certified as double platinum. Their second single from that album, “Warm It Up”, won a Billboard video award for Best New Artist.
Thanks to the album’s success, the duo managed to land a spot on Michael Jackson’s European “Dangerous” World Tour in 1992. Kelly and his partner Smith also created a video game called “Kris Kross: Make My Video”, which was released by Sega. The game revolved around putting together music videos for the group’s hit songs. However, the game received poor reviews and sales, and was even featured on the “20 Worst Games of All Time” list, published by Electronic Gaming Monthly, taking up the 18th place.
Kris Kross went on to make two more albums, “Da Bomb” in 1993, and “Young, Rich & Dangerous” in 1996. “Da Bomb” achieved platinum status, and included hit songs such as “I’m Real”, “Alright” (featuring Super Cat), and “Da Bomb” (featuring Da Brat, a rapper whom Chris Smith discovered). “Young, Rich & Dangerous”, their third and final album, achieved gold status and produced two hits, “Live and Die for Hip Hop” and “Tonite’s tha Night”, and continued adding to their net worth. Their fourth album, recorded in 2000 after a long break, was never released.
Apart from his successful career as a rapper, Kelly also founded C Connection Records, having studied studio engineering during the band’s hiatus. Kris Kross was also known for their tendency to wear clothes backwards.
Chris Kelly was found dead from a drug overdose, presumably cocaine and heroin, in his home in Atlanta on 1st May 2013. He was only 34 years old at the time of his passing.
