Quick Facts
Biography
Christopher "Play" Martin (born July 10, 1962) is an American rapper and actor, formerly the latter half of the late 1980s/early 1990s hip-hop/comedy duo Kid 'n Play.
Career
The name, "Play", comes from his original MC name, "Playboy", which originated with a group called "Quicksilver and the Super Lovers", which featured producer Hurby Luv Bug. It was with this group that he met Christopher "Kid" Reid, who was using the name "Kid Coolout" with a group called The Turnout Brothers. In time, all of the members of their respective groups moved on, and decided that they could work together as a duo. By shortening their nicknames, it would lead to the start of the group Kid 'n Play.
With Kid, Play recorded three successful albums and starred in four hip-hop based comedy films: House Party, House Party 2, Class Act, and House Party 3. After the duo split in 1995, Play became a born-again Christian and focused on Christian hip hop. Today, Play 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, which is currently in post-production and whose trailer can be seen on youtube.com. Play was also a judge for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.
Discography
With Kid 'n Play
Albums
- 1988: 2 Hype
- 1990: Kid 'n Play's Funhouse
- 1991: Face the Nation
Acting career
Television
- Kid 'n Play (1990–1991, animated cartoon, NBC)
Film
- House Party (1990) - Peter "Play" Martin
- House Party 2 (1991) - Peter "Play" Martin
- Class Act (1992) Michael Charles "Blade" Brown
- House Party 3 (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)