Kid 'n Play

by Ran

Kid (left) and Play (right)














































































































































Kid, DJ Wiz and Play

































































Shari Headley and Play












































Salt-n-Pepa, Kid 'N Play, Sweet T, Herbie Luv 
Bug and Dana Dane
















Michael Jordan, Kid, Will Smith, Jazzy Jeff and Play
















Flavor Flav, Salt-n-Pepa, Kid 'N Play, Jazzy Jeff & 
the Fresh Prince and Slick Rick

















Martin Lawrence (Bilal) and Play in House Party































Play and TLC in House Party 3

















Play, Eazy-E and Kid















Tupac Shakur, Kid and Aaron Hall

Christopher "Play" Martin was born on July 10, 1962 in the East Elmhurst section of Queens, New York to Willy and Regina Martin. His childhood neighbors were future producers Eric "Eric B." Barrier and Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor and future rapper Kwame' Holland. Willy was incarcerated for bank robbery during Christopher's youth. As a teen, Christopher became involved in petty crime, including: purse-snatching and armed robbery. 

The oldest of four children, he also developed an interest in music and taught himself to play the guitar and drums. After discovering hip hop, Martin became a break dancer and later joined local rap group The Super Lovers, which included Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor, in his late teens. 

Christopher "Kid" Reid was born on April 5, 1964 in The Bronx, New York to a Jamaican father and an Irish mother. At the age of nine, Reid, who was raised by his mother, was involved in a car accident that took the life of his mother and her female friend. He subsequently moved in with his father in Staten Island, New York. After Reid found himself routinely bullied by racist peers, his father moved the family to the predominately African-American East Elmhurst section of Queens. As a teenager, Reid became interested in hip hop music and gave himself the nickname, "Kid Culot", and became known for wearing a lab coat and wearing his hair in an afro. He eventually joined local rap group The Turnout Brothers. 

Martin and Reid met when the former noticed the latter performing at a Queens nightclub. The two shortly began performing together, calling themselves The Fresh Force Crew. After auditioning for Lenny Brown, a DJ for New York radio station WBLS, and his production partner, Rich Ahee, the duo began working as Martin and Reid's managers. Martin and Reid subsequently recorded the song "My Skeezer", a parody of Run-DMC's "My Adidas" and "Rock Me", inspired by Falco's hit "Rock Me Amadeus". 

When the two songs failed to become hits, Martin's old friend, Azor, who was by this time managing and producing rap group Salt-n-Pepa, took over management duties for the pair and named them Kid 'n Play. Shortly afterwards, Azor recruited Mark "Wiz" Eastmond to be the group's DJ.

In 1987, the group's first hit song, "Last Night", produced by Azor, was released. The follow-up, "Do This My Way", was accompanied by the pair's first music video, which featured the first appearance of the "Kid 'n Play Kick Step". The third single, "Gittin' Funky", proved to be the group's breakthrough song. 

On October 25, 1988, the duo released their debut album, 2 Hype. The group subsequently went on tour with Keith Sweat and Salt-n-Pepa. By that time, Reid had become known for his signature look, his extremely tall high-top fade. In 1989, Martin, Reid and Azor made cameos in their East Elmhurst neighbor Kwame' Holland's music video for his song "The Man We All Know and Love".  

After gaining the attention of music video director, Reginald Hudlin, Martin and Reid, alongside then-aspiring comedian Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell, were cast in his feature film debut, House Party, which premiered March 9, 1990. Upon its release, House Party became garnered critical acclaim and grossed more than 10 times what it cost to produce, making it one of the most profitable movies of the 1990s. Kid 'n Play's second album, Funhouse, was released four days after House Party's debut. 

Following the success of the movie, Martin founded a clothing label, IV Plai. The group's third album, Face the Nation, was released on September 24, 1991. House Party 2 premiered just under a month later -- October 23, 1991. 

On June 5, 1992, Martin and Reid's only non-House Party movie, Class Act, premiered.

Martin married actress Shari Headley in May of 1993. Headley gave birth to their son, Skyler Martin, in April of 1994.The couple divorced in June of 1995. Reid fathered three children between 1994-1996. During that time, Martin and Reid starred in House Party 3, released on January 12, 1994.

Following House Party 3, Reid became a stand-up comic and hosted "It's Showtime at the Apollo" and "Your Big Break". In July of 2010, he was charged with a DUI in his adopted home of Los Angeles, California. That same year, Martin starred in the indie film The Return.

LeBron James' Kid 'n Play State Farm commercial

Scene from House Party

Related:

Kwame'