Christopher Reid (born April 5, 1964), formerly known as Kid (shortened from his original MC name, Kid Coolout), is an American rapper and actor. During the peak of his career with the rap 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 ...

, with Christopher Martin, Reid was notable for both his seven-inch, vertical

hi-top fade Hi-top fade is a haircut where hair on the sides is cut off or kept very short while hair on the top of the head is grown long. The hi-top was a trend during the golden age of hip hop and urban contemporary music of the 1980s and the early 1990s. ...

and

freckles Freckles are clusters of concentrated melaninized cells which are most easily visible on people with a fair complexion. Freckles do not have an increased number of the melanin-producing cells, or melanocytes, but instead have melanocytes that ...

Life and career

Reid was born in

The Bronx, New York The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County to its north; to its south and west, the New York City bo ...

, to a Jamaican father (1928–2019) and an Irish mother (1930–1973). He graduated from the

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science is a State school, public Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in the Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science ...

in 1982. He also graduated in 1986 from

Lehman College Lehman College is a public college in New York City, United States. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, it became an independent college in 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehman, a former New York governor, United ...

in the Bronx with his B.A. in English after first attending Miles College. He is best known as one half of late-1980s/early-1990s

hip hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...

al act

with fellow rapper/actor Christopher "Play" Martin. Reid was particularly notable for his extremely large

hairstyle. Reid has appeared on a number of television programs, including ''

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

'' and '' Sister, Sister'', and has served as the host of amateur contest shows, such as '' Your Big Break'' and ''

It's Showtime at the Apollo English auxiliary verbs are a small set of English verbs, which include the English modal auxiliary verbs and a few others. Although the auxiliary verbs of English are widely believed to lack inherent semantic meaning and instead to modify the ...

''. Reid tours as a

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

. Reid's most recent musical contribution has been writing the theme song to HBO's ''

Real Time with Bill Maher ''Real Time with Bill Maher'' is an American television talk show that airs weekly on HBO, hosted by stand-up comedy, comedian and political satire, political satirist Bill Maher. Much like his previous series ''Politically Incorrect'' on Comedy ...

''. He also appeared on the VH1 reality magician game show '' Celebracadabra'' in 2008. Pursuing a solo career, he released a music video for a song called "Why Don't You Stay", on which he raps and sings. He appeared in

The Asylum The Asylum is an American independent film production and distribution company based in Burbank, California, known for producing low-budget, direct-to-video films, in particular mockbusters, which capitalize on the popularity of major studio f ...

's film '' War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave'', a sequel to H.G. Wells' ''War of the Worlds''. He has been a guest on '' The Dawn and Drew Show'', '' Comics Unleashed'',

New England Sports Network New England Sports Network, popularly known as NESN , is an American regional sports cable and satellite television network owned by a joint venture of Fenway Sports Group (which owns a controlling 80% interest, and is the owner of the Boston ...

's ''Comedy All-Stars'', and ''Slanted Comedy''. He played the role of The Rhymer on the TV series '' Supah Ninjas''. He also appears in

LMFAO LMFAO (an initialism for Laughing My Freaking Ass Off) was an American electronic dance music duo consisting of Redfoo and Sky Blu (rapper), Sky Blu. Redfoo is the youngest son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and Nancy Leiviska. Sky Blu ...

's video for " Sorry for Party Rocking". In 2012, he broke into voice-over work in the military shooter video game '' Spec Ops: The Line'', in which he plays Lieutenant Alphonso Adams, part of a three-man squad sent into a ruined Dubai to investigate a signal from an MIA military unit, The Damned 33rd. In an interview on the "Hip-Hop Confessions" podcast, Reid shared that he and Christopher Martin ("Play") were heated about the cancellation of their animated series on

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 ...

. Their anger at the time made their emotions outweigh their business mindset, and they missed out on a major TV deal, which went to

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

and

DJ Jazzy Jeff Jeffrey Allen Townes (born January 22, 1965), known professionally as DJ Jazzy Jeff (or simply Jazz), is an American DJ and producer. He was one half of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, along with Will Smith. He is credited, ...

and resulted in the hit TV series ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz that aired on NBC from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...

''. Looking back on the time, Reid admitted that he and Martin failed to see past their wants and consider the bigger picture. He is a fan of the sports radio station in Dallas "The Ticket" 1310 AM/96.7 FM. He is "guest picker" of sports picks on the station and has guest-hosted "The Norm and D Invasion" with Donovan Lewis.

Discography

* 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

* 1990: ''

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 ...

'' * 1991: ''

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 ...

'' * 1992: '' Class Act'' * 1992: ''

'' - Guest appearance (Season 1, Episode 6) * 1994: ''

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 ...

'' * 1996-1997: '' Sister, Sister'' * 1998: ''

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

'' * 2001: ''

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 ...

'' * 2003: '' Pauly Shore Is Dead'' * 2005: '' Barbershop: The Series'' * 2008: '' War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave'' * 2009: ''

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, or Midtown West on real estate listings, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, ...

'' * 2010: '' Freaknik: The Musical'' * 2011: '' Supah Ninjas'' * 2012-2014: '' Black Dynamite: The Animated Series'' * 2013: '' Mad'' * 2013: '' House Party: Tonight's the Night'' * 2021: '' Apple & Onion'' * 2023: ''

Video games

* '' Spec Ops: The Line'' – 1st Lieutenant Alphonso Adams

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Christopher 1964 births Living people 20th-century American rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers American male film actors American stand-up comedians Television personalities from New York City The Bronx High School of Science alumni American people of Irish descent American rappers of Jamaican descent Rappers from the Bronx American male television actors Lehman College alumni American male singers American male rappers American male video game actors American male voice actors American male television writers American television writers Comedians from New York (state) Screenwriters from New York (state) Kid 'n Play