Christopher Reid (born April 5, 1964), formerly known as Kid (shortened from his original MC name, Kid Coolout), 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 ...

, actor and comedian. 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 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" Eas ...

(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 symbolising the golden age of hip hop and urban contemporary music during the 1980s and the ea ...

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 a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York ...

, 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, commonly called Bronx Science, is a public 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 involves passing the Spec ...

in 1982. He also graduated in 1990 from

Lehman College Lehman College is a public college in the Bronx borough of New York City. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, the school became an independent college within CUNY in September 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehma ...

in the Bronx after attending

Miles College Miles College is a private historically black college in Fairfield, Alabama. Founded in 1898, it is associated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (CME Church) and a member of the United Negro College Fund. History Miles College bega ...

. He is best known as one half of late-1980s/early-1990s hip hop musical act

with fellow rapper/actor

Christopher "Play" Martin 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. Career Martin's stage name, Play, is derived from his original MC name, Playboy, which h ...

. Reid was particularly notable for his extreme

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

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

'' 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 verbs and a few others. Although definitions vary, as generally conceived an auxiliary lacks inherent semantic meaning but instead modifies the meaning of an ...

''. Reid tours as a

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

. 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 comedian and political satirist Bill Maher. Much like his previous series ''Politically Incorrect'' on Comedy Central and later on ABC, ''Real Ti ...

''. He also appeared on the VH1 reality magician game show ''

Celebracadabra ''Celebracadabra'' is an American reality television series on VH1 that premiered on April 27, 2008. The series involves celebrities attempting to learn and perform magic. Magician/actor Jonathan Levit serves as the host. On Thursday, June 12, ...

'' in 2008. Pursuing a solo career, he released a music video for a song called "Why Don't You Stay", to which he raps and sings on the track. He appeared in

The Asylum The Asylum is an American independent film company and distributor that focuses on producing low-budget, direct-to-video films. It is notorious for producing titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and sc ...

'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 ''The Dawn and Drew Show'' is a podcast starring and produced by a married couple, Dawn Miceli (born in West Allis, Wisconsin) and Drew Domkus (formerly of the Scaterd Few). The hosts describe themselves as " ��two ex gutter punks who fall in lo ...

'', ''

Comics Unleashed ''Comics Unleashed'' is a half-hour comedic talk show produced by the Entertainment Studios production company (formerly CF Entertainment) and hosted by Byron Allen, with John Cramer as announcer and DJ Cobra or sometimes DJ A1 providing music ...

'', New England Sports Network's ''Comedy All-Stars'', and ''Slanted Comedy''. He played the role of The Rhymer on the TV series ''

Supah Ninjas ''Supah Ninjas'' is an American action superhero teen sitcom, created by Leo Chu and Eric Garcia. The series aired on Nickelodeon from January 17, 2011, to April 27, 2013. It ran for 2 seasons. The first season was filmed in Los Angeles and the ...

''. He also appears in

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

's video for "

Sorry for Party Rocking ''Sorry for Party Rocking'' is the second studio album by LMFAO. It was released June 21, 2011, physically and digitally by Interscope Records as the follow-up to their debut album ''Party Rock'' (2009). " Party Rock Anthem" was the first single ...

". In 2012, he broke into voice-over work in the military shooter video game '' Spec Ops: The Line'', in which he plays Lt. Alphanso Adams, part of a three-man squad sent into a ruined Dubai to investigate a signal from an

MIA Mia, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA., a German rock/pop band formed in 1997 * Mia (singer) (born 1983) ...

military unit, The Damned 33rd. He is a known 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 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 o ...

Filmography

* 1990: ''

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, ...

'' * 1991: ''

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 suc ...

'' * 1992: ''

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 sto ...

'' * 1992: ''

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

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 s ...

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

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

'' * 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 before ...

'' * 2003: ''

Pauly Shore Is Dead ''Pauly Shore Is Dead'' is a 2003 American mockumentary comedy film directed, produced, co-written by, and starring Pauly Shore. The film is a fake Documentary film, documentary that begins as a semi-autobiographical retelling of Shore's early s ...

'' * 2005: '' Barbershop: The Series'' * 2008: '' War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave'' * 2009: ''

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the eas ...

'' * 2010: '' Freaknik: The Musical'' * 2011: ''

'' * 2012-2014: '' Black Dynamite: The Animated Series'' * 2013: '' Mad'' * 2013: '' House Party: Tonight's the Night'' * 2021: '' Apple & Onion''

Video games

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Christopher 1964 births Living people 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 people of Jamaican descent People 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 Comedians from New York (state) Screenwriters from New York (state) 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers