I knew when I was 6. I just knew it; I didn't care about nothing else. If I didn't make it in this world, I would probably be homeless. I gave myself that little to fall back on.

After a supporting stint in the little-seen gang drama New Blood (1999) Wayans' film fortunes increased dramatically when he co-starred with his brother Marlon in a hit film directed by their older brother Keenan: Scary Movie (1999–2000) a comic satire (which he also co-wrote) on the then-recent trend of horror films like Scream. (1995) TV Series (Producer Director & Executive Consultant). Wayans grew up in the Fulton Houses in the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea and is a 1989 graduate of the Bayard Rustin High School for the Humanities.

He is the brother of Keenen Ivory Damon Marlon Kim and Nadia Wayans.