"Jump" is a song 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 ...

, released on February 6, 1992, as their first single from their debut studio album, '' Totally Krossed Out'' (1992). It achieved international success, topping charts in Switzerland, Australia, and the United States. Additionally, it was the third best-selling song of 1992 in the United States with sales of 2,079,000 physical copies that year.

Composition

"Jump", a hip hop song, was written and produced 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. Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith were only 12 and 13 years old when they recorded the song. The song samples "

I Want You Back "I Want You Back" is the first national single by the Jackson 5. It was released by Motown on October 6, 1969, and became the first number-one hit for the band on January 31, 1970. It was performed on the band's first television appearances, on ...

" by

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

, "

Funky Worm "Funky Worm" is a song by American funk group the Ohio Players, from their album ''Pleasure''. It peaked at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' R&B chart in 1973 and also peaked at number fifteen on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ''Billboard'' ran ...

" by

Ohio Players Ohio Players is an American funk band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their songs "Fire (Ohio Players song), Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster", and for their erotic album covers that featured nude or nearly nude women. Many of t ...

, "

Impeach the President "Impeach the President" is a single by funk band the Honey Drippers, written and produced by Roy Charles Hammond, known as Roy C. It was first released on Alaga Records in 1973, and was re-released to iTunes by Tuff City Records in 2017, after b ...

" by The Honey Drippers, "

How I Could Just Kill a Man "How I Could Just Kill a Man" is the debut single by Hip hop music, hip hop group Cypress Hill from their eponymous debut album, ''Cypress Hill (album), Cypress Hill'', and was their first major hit in 1991. It was released as a double A-side to " ...

" by

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

, "Escape-Ism" by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

, " Saturday Night" by

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 ...

, and a replay of " O.P.P." by Naughty by Nature. At the beginning of their song they dissed another kid group

Another Bad Creation Another Bad Creation (sometimes called ABC for short) Overview )))"> allmusic ((( Another Bad Creation > Overview ))) Retrieved November 7, 2007. Demetrius and Marliss ("Red" and "Mark", respectively) Pugh, as well as Adrian "G.A." (General Austi ...

when Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly said "don't try to compare us to another bad little fad". The original song's introduction contained a sample of Another Bad Creation's song "

Playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people ...

" which was followed by a scratching sound giving the effect that their record was being taken off to play "Jump". This was soon removed due to copyright infringement.

Reception

Steve Huey from

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 databas ...

called the song "irresistible", adding, "actually, the miggeda-miggeda-mack bit proves they're not bad rappers".

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' wrote that "energetic pop/hip-hopper showcases fast-talking, baby-voiced male rappers that may initially draw comparisons to

." He also described the song as "radio-friendly" and "melodic". Randy Clark and Bryan DeVaney from '' Cashbox'' commented, "For such young guys, they deliver some pretty impressive lyrics and have a slammin' music track on their debut single. You can be sure to hear more from this group in the near future." James Bernard from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' noted, "Play the group’s hyperactive platinum single ”Jump” at any party and watch the floors quake. To their credit, the two rappers don’t rely on their production team’s musical prowess. Smith (who calls himself Daddy Mack) and Kelly (Mack Daddy) grip their microphones with so much confidence that if they didn’t sound so youthful, you might forget they’re just barely out of grade school." Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...

'' stated, "These two twelve year-olds from Atlanta are about to bounce in only one direction—to the top of the chart." Bruce Britt from ''

Los Angeles Daily News The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado-based Digital First Media. The offices of the ''Dai ...

'' described the song as "bubble gum rap". Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' commented that "these 12-year-old boys have formed a real rap posse. They sound as determined as

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

at that age." Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' stated that "against an unusually fresh and eclectic backdrop, the two 13-year-old rappers make a highly infectious noise incorporating some

ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Sm ...

influences". James Hamilton from the magazine's ''RM'' Dance Update deemed it a "jaunty "jump, jump" prodded jiggly lurcher". A reviewer from ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People ...

'' said that "their best trick is inserting catchily melodic refrains in the middle of their free-stylin' raps. That should help them kross over to pop. And cheek the speed at which they spin out their ragamuffin rhymes on "Jump" and "

Warm It Up "Warm It Up" is the second single released from Kris Kross' debut album, ''Totally Krossed Out''. Produced and written by Jermaine Dupri, "Warm It Up" was released as the follow-up to the duo's multi-platinum chart topping hit, "Jump" on June 4, ...

". Obviously the tongue matures before the rest of the body." Hannah Ford from '' Select'' wrote that the song "is a beautiful hip hop track that gets your goose bumps quacking. It's

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...

's wailing sax break with Naughty By Nature's b-line." Bunny Sawyer from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' gave it five out of five, commenting, "Their tune's a work of hip-hop genius that comes complete with easy-peasy dance steps to make us all look as cross as them." ''

Sunday Tribune The ''Sunday Tribune'' was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to tab ...

'' described it as a "infectious rallying cry".

Chart performance

"Jump" was very successful on the charts all over the world. It remains the duo's biggest hit to date. In Europe, the song reached number-one in Finland, Ireland and Switzerland, as well as on the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

. It peaked at number two in Denmark, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Additionally, the single made it into the Top 10 also in Austria, Belgium, France, Greece and Italy. In the UK, it peaked in its second week at the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, on May 31, 1992. It was held off the top by KWS' cover song " Please Don't Go". Outside Europe, "Jump" went to number-one in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and on both the ''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and the ''Billboard''

Hot Rap Songs 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 stat ...

chart in the United States. The song kept

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

's "

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack ...

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the single "Hol ...

's "

My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It) "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" is a song by American pop/ R&B group En Vogue, released in March 1992 as the lead single from their multi-platinum second album, '' Funky Divas'' (1992). The single reached number two on the US ''Billboard ...

" and the

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

' "

Under The Bridge "Under the Bridge" is a song by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers and the eleventh track on their fifth studio album, ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'' (1991). Vocalist Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyrics while reflecting on loneliness and the st ...

" from the top spot on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, in which all three songs peaked at number two. It was the fastest selling single in fifteen years and stayed on top of the Hot 100 for eight weeks. It was awarded with a

silver record Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical cond ...

in France and both a

platinum record Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

and a 2× platinum record in the US. Kris Kross's debut album '' Totally Krossed Out'', which features "Jump", sold over four million copies. At the time of its eight-week run, it was the longest running No. 1 since

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

's "

Every Breath You Take "Every Breath You Take" is a song by the English rock band the Police from their album ''Synchronicity'' (1983). Written by Sting, the single was the biggest US and Canadian hit of 1983, topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart for ei ...

" spent eight weeks at No. 1 in the summer of 1983. On July 23, 2021 the single was certified Silver by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

in the UK.

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was made to accompany the song. It was uploaded to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

in September 2010. As of June 2022, the video has got more than 140 million views. The video also appeared in the

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

video game, Make My Video: Kris Kross.

Impact and legacy

"Jump" ranked number 75 on " VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90's", and number two on their "Child Stars" Top 10 list. In 2010, ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen appliance, kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsion, emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender ...

'' listed the song as number 373 on its list of "Greatest Songs Since You Were Born". Same year, the song (mislabeled as "Jump, Jump") was ranked at No. 34 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever by Matthew Wilkening of

AOL Radio AOL Radio powered by Slacker (formerly AOL Radio powered by CBS Radio, and prior AOL Radio featuring XM) was an online radio service available in the United States only. It had over 200 free internet radio stations. History Roots AOL Radio ...

, who tells the reader not to blame the kids of Kris Kross, but to look behind the curtain for Treach and Dupri, whom he labeled as "true villains". In 2019, ''

'' placed it at number 97 in their ranking of "''Billboard''s Top Songs of the '90s".

Track listings

* 7" single Columbia # "Jump" – 3:17 # "Lil' Boys in Da Hood" – 3:04 * CD single # "Jump" – 3:17 # "Lil' Boys in Da Hood" – 3:04 * 12" maxi – US # "Jump" (radio edit) – 3:17 # "Jump" (extended mix) – 5:09 # "Jump" (instrumental mix) – 3:17 # "Lil Boys in Da Hood" – 3:04 * 12" maxi – US # "Jump" (super cat mix) – 4:35 # "Jump" (instrumental) – 3:32 # "Jump" (extended dance mix) – 6:47 # "Jump" (super cat dessork mix) – 3:52 * CD maxi – US # "Jump" (extended dance mix) – 6:52 # "Jump" (super cat dessork mix) – 3:54 # "Jump" (super cat mix) – 4:37 # "Jump" (instrumental) – 3:33 * CD maxi – Germany # "Jump" (radio edit) – 3:17 # "Jump" (extended mix) – 5:09 # "Jump" (instrumental mix) – 3:17 # "Lil Boys in Da Hood" – 3:04 * Cassette # "Jump" (radio edit) – 3:17 # "Lil' Boys in Da Hood" – 3:04 # "Jump" (radio edit) – 3:17 # "Lil' Boys in Da Hood" – 3:04

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jump (Kris Kross Song) 1992 debut singles Kris Kross songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Switzerland Number-one singles in Zimbabwe Songs written by Jermaine Dupri Songs written by Berry Gordy Songs written by Freddie Perren Songs written by Alphonzo Mizell Songs written by Deke Richards Songs written by DJ Muggs Songs written by B-Real Songs written by Sen Dog Songs written by James Brown Songs written by Treach Songs written by KayGee Songs written by Vin Rock Song recordings produced by Jermaine Dupri 1991 songs Columbia Records singles Ruffhouse Records singles Novelty and fad dances