Kid 'N Play

by John BushAmong the first groups to tame rap's hardcore mentality into a positive, message-oriented music suitable for teens and mass audiences, Kid 'n Play debuted in 1988 with the platinum album 2 Hype, which the duo later spun into a deal involving films and a Saturday-morning cartoon show, the first involving a rap act. Though their recording activity became limited during the gangsta-dominated '90s -- 1991's Face the Nation was their last album -- the group managed two sequels to their original House Party film, as well as the 1991 teen flick Class Act. Kid (born Christopher Reid; Bronx, NY) and Play (born Christopher Martin; Queens, NY) first met while performing in rival high school groups (the Turnout Brothers and the Super Lovers, respectively) and initially teamed up as Fresh Force. Play's former bandmate, Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor, became the duo's manager and signed Kid 'n Play to Select Records in 1987. Despite the predominance of James Brown samples during the mid-'80s, Azor gave 2 Hype a production job more rooted in disco and pop; thanks to the near-Top Ten R&B hit "Rollin' with Kid 'n Play," the album eventually reached platinum status. Though many rappers were more successful at the time, Kid 'n Play became film stars due to their clean-cut image -- Kid's six-inch "eraserhead" hairstyle, which seemed outrageous to white audiences, was vindicated by his honest, well-scrubbed face. The film House Party became a moderate success upon its release in 1990, and the duo even managed a proper LP that same year, Funhouse. During 1991, two Kid 'n Play films appeared: a sequel to House Party and Class Act. That same year, the album Face the Nation showed a growing reluctance to pander to pop audiences, but the duo was already entrenched in their style. A second sequel to House Party appeared in 1993, and little has been heard from them since.