Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Kid 'N Play (Music)

 Kid 'N Play (Music)
type
TVTItem
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
label
Kid 'N Play (Music)
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
page
KidNPlay
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
comment
Kid 'N Play are a hip hop duo originating from the boroughs of New York City, consisting of emcees Christopher "Kid" Reid (April 5, 1964, Bronx, NY) and Christopher "Play" Martin (July 10, 1962, Queens, NY), known both for their successful rap careers, and being the lead stars of the original House Party trilogy and Class Act.Originally getting their starts in rival rap groups The Turnout Brothers and The Super Lovers, they joined forces after their respective groups dissolved in 1984. Backed by their producer Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor and DJ Wiz, they started out as the "Fresh Force Crew", and initially released response records under that name, before switching to "Kid 'N Play" by 1987.In 1988, they found their first taste of success with their debut LP 2 Hype, released on Select Records. Though it only reached #96 on the Billboard 200, it spawned three rap hits with "Gittin' Funky", "Rollin' With Kid 'N Play", and the title track, which helped push the album to Gold certification. It also garnered praise for the duo's pop-friendly, Go-Go-influenced sound and choreography, alongside infamy for their visual trademarks — Kid rocked an outrageously large hi-top fade, while Play regularly wore eight-ball jackets.Around the same time, the duo were tapped by New Line Cinema for the lead roles of the first House Party film after DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince turned it down.note Ironically, Kid 'N Play also turned down NBC's offer for a sitcom that went on to become The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Released in 1990, it cast Kid 'N Play as teenagers trying to throw a giant blowout, all while avoiding both their parents and the cops. Featuring Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell, fellow musicians Full Force, and Robin Harris taking the role of Kid's father, it was a critical and commercial success, and set the gold standard for other teen party movies for years to come. The duo wasted no time capitalizing off their newfound exposure, and released both a soundtrack album for the movie and their sophomore album Funhouse (the latter earning them their second Gold-certified record and their first #1 rap hit with the title track). They even got their own Saturday morning cartoon and a tie-in comic book courtesy of Marvel Comics.Unfortunately, a combination of overexposure within such a short timespan and the rise of Gangsta Rap all but destroying the credibility of almost every pop-friendly rap act during the '90s led to Kid 'N Play losing a lot of popularity and goodwill by 1991. To the duo's credit, they were well aware their current shtick was starting to wear out its welcome among the masses, and were also starting to tire of pandering to pop audiences as well. So they decided if they couldn't be gangsters, there was nothing stopping them from taking the conscious route instead.Thus came their third album, Face the Nation, an attempt to take a more serious approach with increased creative input while not entirely abandoning the dance tracks that made them popular. Unfortunately, the album had the effect of alienating their remaining pop audience, and was mocked by the hardcore crowd, leading to the album and its singles bricking, save for "Ain't Gonna Hurt Nobody", which became another rap #1 and their first and only single to crossover onto the Hot 100 (at #51). Their second and third films, 1991's House Party 2 and 1992's Class Act, while commercially successful, were blasted by critics, and they were reduced to only appearing on soundtracks as soon as Class Act hit theaters, before getting dropped by Select Records in 1994.After House Party 3, Kid and Play split in 1995 to focus on different ventures. Play became a born-again Christian and started working as a producer for Christian hip hop projects; Kid continued focusing on acting and music, both to limited success, and later branched off to stand-up comedy, as well as voice acting with Spec Ops: The Line. After 2001, the duo would make sporadic reunion appearances before reuniting for good in 2009, and they continue to tour frequently.
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
fetched
2023-10-23T17:46:25Z
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
parsed
2023-10-23T17:46:25Z
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
processingComment
Dropped link to HouseParty2023: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
processingComment
Dropped link to HouseParty: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_177a6464
type
Genre Shift
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_177a6464
comment
Genre Shift: Not quite as drastic as MC Hammer's later shift to Gangsta Rap, but it was still badly executed nonetheless. The group attempted to take the conscious rap approach with Face the Nation out of a desire to stop pandering to pop audiences, and to avoid being rendered obsolete by the rising popularity of the hardcore scene. Not a bad idea on paper, but their overly preachy lyrics, and the continued presence of pop-adjacent tracks in-between the sociopolitical commentary led to them failing to attract an audience from either scene.
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_177a6464
featureApplicability
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_177a6464
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_177a6464
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_1e52d870
type
Dance Sensation
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_1e52d870
comment
Dance Sensation: "Do The Kid 'N Play Kickstep", which was a updated two-man variation of the Charleston, and was actually popular for a while, mostly thanks to them doing it on House Party.
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_1e52d870
featureApplicability
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_1e52d870
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_1e52d870
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_2f36d97
type
Older Than They Look
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_2f36d97
comment
Older Than They Look: Kid was pushing thirty when he and Play became stars, but his clean-shaven babyface would make you think he was in his early twenties. This helped him convincingly play a teenager in House Party.
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_2f36d97
featureApplicability
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_2f36d97
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_2f36d97
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_4b86a724
type
Getting Crap Past the Radar
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_4b86a724
comment
Getting Crap Past the Radar: They intentionally subvert the "Parental Advisory" stickers in their album Funhouse by creative use of interludes. The lyrics themselves are completely devoid of curses or suggestive lyrics, but the studio outtakes and conversations used as interludes are definitely not suitable for children. Despite this, Funhouse has never received a "Parental Advisory" sticker; which was even lampshaded in one of the interludes when the duo and their producer Hurby Azor were going over the tapes:
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_4b86a724
featureApplicability
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_4b86a724
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_4b86a724
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_6c6bde54
type
Band Toon
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_6c6bde54
comment
Band Toon: The duo along with their DJ, Wiz, and producer Hurb were animated as teenagers in their own Saturday Morning Cartoon. Kid n Play were in the live action sequences as their cartoon counterparts had different voice actors.
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_6c6bde54
featureApplicability
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_6c6bde54
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_6c6bde54
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_72817deb
type
Conscious Hip Hop
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_72817deb
comment
Conscious Hip Hop: Made up the bulk of Face the Nation, which essentially killed their already-fleeting mainstream appeal in 1991.
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_72817deb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_72817deb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_72817deb
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_77012704
type
New Jack Swing
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_77012704
comment
New Jack Swing: Their sound was more influenced by Go-Go than new jack, but they still had a fair amount of songs in the style, such as "Ain't Gonna Hurt Nobody"
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_77012704
featureApplicability
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_77012704
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_77012704
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_88cee6e2
type
Abhorrent Admirer
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_88cee6e2
comment
Abhorrent Admirer: Subverted. In "Last Night", Kid, in an effort to take his girlfriend to a show, had essentially set Play up on a blind double date, as the former's girlfriend was already hanging out with a friend. Play is immediately repulsed by his date's looks upon seeing her, and only goes through with it out of obligation to Kid, but eventually came around when he realized she was actually better looking than he originally gave her credit for.
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_88cee6e2
featureApplicability
-0.3
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_88cee6e2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_88cee6e2
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_8b4f2a4f
type
'80s Hair
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_8b4f2a4f
comment
'80s Hair and '90s Hair: While hi-top fades were fairly common among most rappers in their heyday, Kid's fade was so enormous, it actually flirted with being real-life Anime Hair. Prior to switching to dreadlocks, the height of his fade was between 10-12 inches at its peak.
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_8b4f2a4f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_8b4f2a4f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_8b4f2a4f
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_8d52f376
type
Battle Rapping
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_8d52f376
comment
Battle Rapping: "Kid Vs. Play", a rap battle between the bandmates recorded for the first House Party film.
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_8d52f376
featureApplicability
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_8d52f376
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_8d52f376
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_ee7a60e9
type
One-Steve Limit
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_ee7a60e9
comment
One-Steve Limit: Enforced. Because both of their real names are "Christopher", they almost always refer to each other by the rap names. This was even carried over into the House Party series, where Play was renamed "Peter".
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_ee7a60e9
featureApplicability
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_ee7a60e9
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_ee7a60e9
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_f0f4b47
type
Vocal Tag Team
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_f0f4b47
comment
Vocal Tag Team: They frequently trade lines on their songs almost seamlessly when not doing whole verses between themselves.
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_f0f4b47
featureApplicability
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_f0f4b47
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_f0f4b47
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_name
type
ItemName
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_name
comment
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_name
 Kid 'N Play (Music) / int_name
itemName
Kid 'N Play (Music)

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
African-American Creators / int_cf606f17
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Conscious Hip Hop / int_cf606f17
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Dance Sensation / int_cf606f17
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Defacement Insult / int_cf606f17
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Getting Crap Past the Radar / int_cf606f17
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Hip-Hop / int_cf606f17
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
New Jack Swing / int_cf606f17
 Kid 'N Play (Music)
hasFeature
Vocal Tag Team / int_cf606f17