Christopher Martin (entertainer)
| Christopher Martin | |
|---|---|
 Christopher "Play" Martin (right) at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Christopher Martin |
| Also known as | Play |
| Born | July 10, 1962 |
| Origin | Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip-Hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels |
Select Records Elektra Records |
| Associated acts | Kid 'n Play, House Party, Salt-N-Pepa, Pete Rock, Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor |
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",[1] 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.[2][3] Play was also a judge for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.[4][5]
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)
References
Notes
- ↑ "Play: Hip-Hop Icon (interview)" Retrieved from Halftimeonline.net
- ↑ "The Return-Official Trailer (2010)"
- ↑ "LPT Productions, LLC website" Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ PRLog
- ↑ Independent Music Awards - 8th Annual IMA Judges Archived April 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.