Dutch-DJ and record producer super group Kris Kross Amsterdam is comprised of Yuki Kempees and brothers Jordy and Sander Huisman. Formed in 2011, the trio named their group after the famous 90’s American rap-group Kriss Kross.
The musically-fluid group exceeded all expectations with their 2016 single “Sex”- which propelled them into the international music scene. “Sex” reached top-10 status in various countries, garnered more than 370 million plays on Spotify and more than 70 million views on YouTube.
The following year, the group joined forces with Mexican singer and Disney protege Jorge Blanco for the release “Gone is The Night” which continues to capture worldwide attention. More recently, KKA have signed-up fellow Dutchman “The Boy Next Door” and British vocalist Conor Maynard for a tropical-house remake of Shakira’s 2001 hit “Whenever, Wherever.” The trio expressed that they sat on this record for almost eight months while seeking clearance from Shakira and Gloria Estefan- needless to say, they finally got it!
Nexus: Hello Kris Kross Amsterdam! Tell us everything about your latest project?
KKA: It was the idea from The Boy Next Door (TBND) to use the sample of Shakira’s big hit ‘Whenever, Wherever’. He had a rough idea and asked us if we wanted to collab on this track. We knew him for some time already, as he plays with us at our parties and festivals a lot. We dived into the studio together and made a sick version together. With this track we had to ask permision from Shakira and Gloria Estefan – who wrote the original version – if we could release this version. We had to wait for about 8 months before we got the OK. Once we received the green light, we contacted Conor Maynard for the vocals, who we worked with before in 2016 on our single ‘Are You Sure?’ with Ty Dolla $ign.
Nexus: When producing a song – which part comes first? The vocals or the beat.
KKA: We actually always start with the chords and BPM. From that point we start building around it. We loop a part of the track to write on. We always start with cool melody lines, and then adding the lyrics. This is how we most often work on a track.
Nexus: What is the craziest thing a fan has ever done for you guys or given you?
KKA: We have one fan that always comes to all our shows in The Netherlands. She always stands all the way in the front wearing a Kris Kross shirt. We really like this a lot! After every show we go to her to have a chat and a picture.
Nexus: Who do you admire musically?
KKA: We want to make music we really love. We really would love to have a track in the Spotify Top 50 again, like we did in 2016 with our single ‘SEX’ 😉 Also we would love to do a collab with Justin Timberlake or Pharell Williams. That would be a dream come true!
Nexus: Given the current world political climate- what do you think needs to change?
KKA: Make love, not war! Life is so short and special. Why would we hurt each other so much. Life is a party and we should celebrate it with each other, not against each other.
Kris Kross Amsterdam x The Boy Next Door featuring Conor Maynard “Whenever” is currently impacting dance radio.
Follow Kris Kross Amsterdam on Spotify here.
