Christopher Martin (born July 10, 1962) is an American rapper and actor, 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 who were most popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It is composed of Christopher Reid ("Kid") and Christopher Martin ("Play") working alongside their DJ, Mark "DJ Wiz" Eastmond. B ...

Career

Martin's

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

, 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. 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 held at the home 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, word of mouth, pos ...

'', ''

House Party 2 ''House Party 2'' is a 1991 American comedy film and the second installment of the House_Party_(franchise)#Films, ''House Party'' film series. Kid 'n Play, Full Force, Tisha Campbell, and Martin Lawrence reprise their roles from the first film ...

'', '' Class Act'', ''

House Party 3 ''House Party 3'' is a 1994 American comedy film, directed by Eric Meza and written by Takashi Bufford. It stars Kid 'n Play, Bernie Mac, Gilbert Gottfried, TLC, Angela Means, Immature and Michael Colyar, with a special appearance by Tisha Ca ...

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

born-again Christian To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...

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 cross-genre of contemporary Christian music and hip-hop. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United State ...

. 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 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. 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 also has appear ...

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'' * 1990: ''

Funhouse A funhouse or fun house is an attraction found in amusement parks and funfair midways, equipped with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, or amuse visitors. Unlike thrill rides or dark rides, fun houses are participatory attractio ...

'' * 1991: ''

Face the Nation ''Face the Nation'' is a weekly news and Sunday morning talk show, morning public affairs program airing Sundays on the CBS radio and Television broadcasting, television network. Created by Frank Stanton (executive), Frank Stanton in 1954, ''Fa ...

Filmography

Television

*''

'' - Self (1990,

animated cartoon Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

) *''

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 befor ...

'' - Self (2002,

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

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

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

)

Film

*''

'' (1990) – Peter "Play" Martin *''

'' (1991) – Peter "Play" Martin *'' Class Act'' (1992) Michael Charles "Blade" Brown *''

'' (1994) – Peter "Play" Martin *'' Rising to the Top'' (1999) *'' Welcome to Durham, USA'' (2007) *'' House Party: Tonight's the Night'' (2013) – Peter "Play" Martin ( cameo) *''

'' (2023) - Peter "Play" Martin ( silent cameo)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Christopher 1962 births 20th-century American rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American musicians African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers Living people American male film actors African-American male actors African-American Christians Male actors from Queens, New York Rappers from Queens, New York Male actors from Durham, North Carolina Musicians from Durham, North Carolina American chief executives Kid 'n Play