Born and raised in Philadelphia, sharp-tongued comedian and actor Kevin Hart developed his standup skills in his hometown. After abandoning his shoe-sales position, he dedicated himself entirely to comedy, which secured him a minor part in Undeclared, the Judd Apatow-produced series. The next year brought his first film role in Paper Soldiers, an urban crime comedy backed by Roc-A-Fella Records that met with limited commercial results. Recognition of his quick-witted riffing nevertheless led to more than a dozen movie roles between 2003 and 2010, among them Soul Plane, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Barbershop, Drillbit Taylor, Little Fockers, Scary Movie 3, and Scary Movie 4. Throughout those years he sustained a steady schedule of live shows, stockpiling material that became the Comedy Central specials I'm a Grown Little Man and the aptly titled Seriously Funny, which attained four-times platinum certification.
Comedy Central issued his third live CD/DVD, Laugh at My Pain, in 2012 while his screen career climbed steeply. The following year he unveiled the theatrical comedy Let Me Explain together with an accompanying hip soundtrack that included cuts by Snoop Dogg, Rocko, Driicky Graham, and additional artists. Live Comedy from the Laff House reached stores in 2014. Hart launched the What Now? comedy tour in 2015; footage from those dates later formed the basis of the 2016 semi-scripted spy-spoof concert film Kevin Hart: What Now? Concurrent with the movie he joined Motown Records and issued the hip-hop project Kevin Hart: What Now? (The Mixtape Presents Chocolate Droppa), spotlighting his rapper persona Chocolate Droppa. The album contained the singles "Push It on Me" featuring Trey Songz and "Baller Alert" featuring Migos and T.I.
