Born Christopher Reid on April 5, 1964 in Bronx, New York, Chris Reid is best known for being half of the hip hop duo Kid 'n Play which gained popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is also an actor and a stand-up comedian, and he graduated from the prestigious Bronx High School of Science, a specialized high school in New York City. His father is Jamaican, while his mother is Irish. Before entering show business, Reid worked as a librarian, filing clerk, freelance journalist, nanny, and tutor. He also used to sport his trademark tall, geometrically perfect, flat-top haircut.
Other than his rapping career, Reid has appeared on a number of television programs, such as Martin and Sister, Sister. He also hosted a couple of amateur contests, namely Your Big Break and It's Show Time at the Apollo. Reid also toured as a stand-up comedian. His partner, Christopher "Play" Martin, and him appeared in four movies together, including House Party, a movie based on their alter egos. They also played themselves in a short-lived Saturday morning cartoon.
Reid is a contestant on the VH1 reality series Celebracadabra, where celebrities are taught different forms of magic by veteran magicians. Each week, the celebrities are judged and one gets eliminated, en route to a grade prize of $100,000. Reid was eliminated on third episode.