Christopher Martin (born July 10, 1962) is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

, who is the latter half of the late 1980s/early 1990s hip-hop/comedy duo

Kid 'n Play Kid 'n Play is an American hip-hop duo from New York City that was most popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The duo was composed of Christopher Reid ("Kid") and Christopher Martin ("Play") working alongside their DJ, Mark "DJ Wiz" East ...

Career

Martin's

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

, Play, is derived from his original MC name, Playboy, which he began using while in a music group, Quicksilver and the Super Lovers, which featured producer

Hurby Luv Bug Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor (born September 26, 1964), also known as Fingerprints, is a Haitian musician and hip-hop music producer. He is best known for discovering and producing the hip-hop trio Salt-N-Pepa and the rap duo Kid 'n Play. Early life ...

. While performing with this group, Martin met Christopher Reid, who performed as Kid Coolout in the group The Turnout Brothers. When their respective groups dissolved, Martin and Reid decided to perform as a duo. By shortening their nicknames, it would lead to the start of the group

which featured the pair rapping and dancing together. With Kid, Play recorded three albums and starred in five hip-hop based comedy films: ''

House Party A house party is a type of party where people gather at the residence of the party's host. Organization A house party might be organized several months or just a few hours in advance. News of a party may be spread by personal invitations, ...

'', ''

House Party 2 ''House Party 2'' is a 1991 American comedy film and the sequel to the 1990 film '' House Party'' released by New Line Cinema. The film returns most of the cast of the first film such as Kid 'n Play and Full Force, along with new cast members su ...

'', ''

Class Act ''Class Act'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Randall Miller and starring hip-hop duo Kid 'n Play. An urban retelling of Mark Twain's ''The Prince and the Pauper'', the film was written by Cynthia Friedlob and John Semper from a st ...

'', ''

House Party 3 ''House Party 3'' is a 1994 American comedy film, starring Kid 'n Play, Bernie Mac, and TLC. It is the third installment of the ''House Party'' film series. This was intended to be the last film in the franchise, ending it as a trilogy, but a sta ...

'', and ''House Party: Tonight’s the Night''. After the duo split in 1995, Play became a

born-again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sep ...

and focused on

Christian hip hop Christian hip hop (originally gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, gospel hip hop or holy hip hop) is a subgenre of contemporary Christian music and hip hop music. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United ...

. He is the founder and CEO of HP4 Digital, a pre- and post-production multimedia company for film, digital media, and theater. In 2010, Play starred as an undercover

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

agent in the independent film ''The Return''. Play was one of the judges for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists. He studied acting at

HB Studio The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency prog ...

HB Studio Alumni
/ref> in New York City.

Personal life

Play was married to actress/model

Shari Headley Shari Headley (born July 15, 1964) is an American actress and former model. She is best known for her role as Lisa McDowell in the 1988 box-office hit romantic comedy film ''Coming to America'' and its sequel ''Coming 2 America'' (2021). Headley ...

from May 1993 until they divorced in June 1995. In April 1994, Headley gave birth to their son, Skyler Martin.

Discography

With Kid 'n Play

Albums

* 1988: ''

2 Hype ''2 Hype'' is the debut studio album by American rap duo Kid 'n Play. It was released on October 26, 1988, through Select Records. Recording sessions took place at Bayside Sound Recording Studio in New York. Production was handled by Hurby "Luv B ...

'' * 1990: ''

Funhouse A funhouse or fun house is an amusement facility found on amusement park and funfair midways and is where patrons encounter and interact with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, and amuse them. Unlike thrill rides or dark rides, f ...

'' * 1991: ''

Face the Nation ''Face the Nation'' is a weekly news and morning public affairs program airing Sundays on the CBS radio and television network. Created by Frank Stanton in 1954, ''Face the Nation'' is one of the longest-running news programs in the history ...

Acting career

Television

*''

'' - Self (1990–1991, animated cartoon,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

) *''

Sealab 2021 ''Sealab 2021'' is an American adult animated television series created by Adam Reed and Matt Thompson for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim. Cartoon Network aired the show's first three episodes in December 2000 before ...

'' - Self (2002,

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

) *'' Bigger'' - Julius (2021, BET)

Film

*''

'' (1990) – Peter "Play" Martin *''

'' (1991) – Peter "Play" Martin *''

'' (1992) Michael Charles "Blade" Brown *''

'' (1994) – Peter "Play" Martin *''

Rising to the Top Rising may refer to: * Rising, a stage in baking - see Proofing (baking technique) *Elevation * Short for Uprising, a rebellion Film and TV * "Rising" (''Stargate Atlantis''), the series premiere of the science fiction television program ''Starga ...

'' (1999) *''

Welcome to Durham, USA ''Welcome to Durham, USA'' is a documentary about gang violence in Durham, North Carolina. Synopsis ''Welcome to Durham, USA'' shows how gangs are not only a problem in big cities, but also in smaller cities and towns. It shows how the rivalr ...

'' (2007) *'' House Party: Tonight's the Night'' (2013) – Peter "Play" Martin (

cameo Cameo or CAMEO may refer to: * Cameo appearance, a brief appearance of a known figure in a film or television show * Cameo (carving), a method of carving, making use of layers of different colours, or an item made with such a method Music * ...

)

References

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Christopher 1962 births American male rappers Living people African-American male actors African-American Christians Place of birth missing (living people) Male actors from New York (state) Rappers from New York City Male actors from Durham, North Carolina Musicians from Durham, North Carolina People from Queens, New York American chief executives 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American musicians