M C Hammer
He became a preacher during the late 1990s and as of 2008 works as a co-initiator of a dance website, television show host and CEO, still performing occasionally at concerts and other functions in addition to his own reality show.
Previously living in Tracy, California, he currently lives in Oakland with his wife Stephanie of 23 years and six children, three boys and three girls (one now in college). Throughout his career, MC Hammer has managed his own recording business, Oaktown Records.
Although considered a "forefather" of entertainment rap music (or "pop rap") at one time, due to his mainstream appeal since the late 1980s, he would later be considered a "sell-out" rapper by many. Nonetheless, BET ranked Hammer as the #7 Best Dancer Of All Time.
Early life
Burrell was born in Oakland, California. From 1980 to 1981, Burrell served as a batboy with the Oakland Athletics under colorful team owner Charlie Finley, who lived in the Midwest and for whom Burrell was his "eyes and ears." Reggie Jackson, in describing Burrell's role for Finley, took credit for the "Hammer" nickname:
Ron Bergman, at the time an Oakland Tribune writer who covered the A's, recalled that:
According to Hammer:
MC Hammer could be found outside the stadium dancing in an effort to earn enough money to attend the games.
Finley saw his eagerness and entrepreneurial techniques which made him suitable for such a position.
Burrell wanted to be a professional baseball player, but he did not catch on in any professional organization. He joined the Navy instead, serving with Patron (Patrol Squadron) Forty Seven (VP-47) of Moffett Field in Mountain View, California, as a Petty Officer Third Class Aviation Store Keeper (AK3) until his honorable discharge.
Upon his return from the military he began performing music in clubs and started his own record vending business, Bust It.
Music career
Prior to his mainstream career, Hammer formed a Christian rap music group known as the Holy Ghost Boys and later released "This Wall" (it was within the lyrics of this song that Burrell first identified himself as M.C. In the spring of 1988, a DJ played the track "Let's Get It Started" — a song in which he declared he was "...second to none, from Doug E.
Fresh, LL Cool J, or DJ Run" — after which the track began to gain popularity in clubs. Hammer received several offers from major record labels after the successful release of the independent album.
It was produced, recorded, and mixed by Felton Pilate and James Earley on a modified tour bus (while on tour). Interestingly, despite heavy airplay and a #27 chart debut, "U Can't Touch This" stopped at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart due to the fact that it was released only as a twelve-inch single.
However, the album was a #1 success for 21 weeks, due primarily to this single.
Follow-up successes included "Have You Seen Her" (a cover of the Chi-Lites) and "Pray" (a beat sampled from Prince's "When Doves Cry"), which was his biggest hit in the US, peaking at #2. The album went on to become the first "hip-hop" album to score diamond status, selling more than 10 million units. During 1990, Hammer toured extensively in Europe which included a sold-out concert at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.
Sinclair went on tour with him during 1991.
The album was notable for sampling other high-profile artists and gave some of these artists a new fanbase. All of these songs proved to be successful on radio and video television, with "U Can't Touch This", "Pray" (most successful), "Have You Seen Her", "Here Comes the Hammer" and "Yo!!Sweetness" (UK only) all charting.
It remains among the genre's all-time best-selling albums.
At the same time, he also appeared in The West Coast Rap All-Stars posse cut "We're All in the Same Gang". Music videos from this album and the previous albums began to receive much airplay on MTV and VH1.
A movie also accompanied the album and was produced at this same time called "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em: The Movie" along with music videos included within the movie.
A critical backlash began over the repetitive nature of his lyrics, his clean-cut image, and his perceived over-reliance on sampling others' hooks for the basis of his singles - criticisms which were also directed toward his contemporary, Vanilla Ice. He was mocked in music videos by 3rd Bass, The D.O.C., DJ Debranz, and Ice Cube.
In fact, LL Cool J mocked him in "To tha Break of Dawn", a track on his Mama Said Knock You Out album, calling Hammer an "...amateur, swinging a Hammer from a bodybag (his pants)," and saying, "my old gym teacher ain't supposed to rap." However Ice-T came to his defense on his 1991 album OG: Original Gangster: "A special shout out to my man MC Hammer; A lot of people diss you, man, but they just jealous." Ice-T later explained that he had nothing against people who were pop rap from the start, as Hammer had been, but only against rappers who switch from being hardcore or dirty to being pop-rap so that they can sell more records.
Despite the criticisms, MC Hammer's career continued to be highly successful. Hammer took the opportunity to answer his critics on certain songs on the album.
Though the album was, by and large, no better accepted (critically) than his first, sales were strong (over three-million copies) and the title track was a hit. Another hit came soon after, with "Addams Groove" (which appeared on both The Addams Family motion picture soundtrack and the vinyl and cassette versions of 2 Legit 2 Quit), which reached #7 in the U.S.
Hammer set out on tour, but the stage show had become as lavish as his lifestyle; loaded with singers, dancers, and backup musicians, the supporting concert tour was too expensive for the album's sales to finance, and it was canceled partway through. Despite the multi-platinum certification, the sales were one-third of Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em.
A video for the title song was also produced, featuring many celebrity appearances.
"2 Legit 2 Quit" has been ranked as one of the most expensive videos ever made. The song proved to be successful in the U.S., peaking at the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, at #6. This fact compounded with witness testimony from both Hammer's and Christian's entourages and other evidence including photos brought about a settlement with Capitol Records in 1994.
While Hammer's appearance changed to keep up with the gangsta rap audience, his lyrics still remained somewhat clean. Yet, as with previous records, Hammer would continue to disrespect other rappers on this album.
As with earlier songs such as "Crime Story", the content remained somewhat the same, but the sound was different, resulting in Hammer losing favor with fans.
The accompanying video to albums's first single, "Pumps and a Bump", was banned from heavy rotation on MTV with censors claiming that the depiction of Hammer in Speedos and with what appeared to be an erection was too graphic. This led to an alternative video being filmed (with Hammer fully clothed) that was directed by Bay Area native Craig S. The album sold poorly (peaking at 119 on the Billboard Charts) and Giant Records dropped him and Oaktown Records from their roster.
However, "Going Up Yonder" and "Sultry Funk" managed to get moderate radio play (charting on station countdowns). Hammer next signed with Death Row Records, then home to Snoop Dogg and his close friend, Tupac Shakur. The label did not release any of Hammer's music while he was with them. However, Burrell did record music with Shakur, most notably the song "Too Late Playa", and the album (Too Tight) he recorded leaked onto the internet some years later.
The Scott Storch-produced title track was released as a single and a music video. Hammer now frequently posts about his life on his blog "Look Look Look," as well as other sites.
As a result of his previous success, Hammer has now become somewhat of a popular web mogul and activist, currently involved in several Internet projects (such as the TechCrunch40 conferences and DanceJam). In early 2008, Hammer launched his newest project as co-founder of DanceJam.com, an exclusive community site dedicated only to dancing videos, competitions and styles.
In August 2008, a new ESPN ad featured Hammer in it, showcasing his newest single ("I Got Gigs" from his album "DanceJamtheMusic"). The commercial was for Monday Night Football's upcoming football season.
Lays, Hallmark, Purell, Lysol, Nationwide Insurance, Citibank, etc.)
According to past articles, Hammer had shown an interest in having his own reality show with specific television networks. He has already been a part of two for VH-1 (I Married...
It was later confirmed he would appear in Hammertime on A&E Network in the summer of 2009. This reality show will be about his personal, business and family life. Hammer appeared on Live with Regis and Kelly on June 3, 2009 to promote his show beginning on June 14, 2009 at 10 PM EST.
On February 1, 2009, Hammer and Ed McMahon were featured in a Super Bowl XLIII commercial for Cash4Gold.com.
On February 11, 2009, Hammer made an in-person appearance at the Shorty Awards, which honor the top short-form content creators on Twitter. In recent news (March 2009), Ellen DeGeneres made plans for Hammer to be on her show (The Ellen DeGeneres Show) via communication with Twitter. As a result of his popularity with the site, he has been considered a "Tweeter star".
In March 2009, MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice had a one-off concert in the McKay Events Center, Orem, Utah.
Legacy
After his rapid fall from fame and subsequent bankruptcy (due in part to the amount of people Hammer employed, which he would later publicly regret, admitting his so-called friends were only interested in his success and money overall), MC Hammer spent most of the latter half of the 1990s as a punch line in the music business.
Other examples include Eminem's "Like Toy Soldiers" which samples nearly the entire chorus from Martika's similarly-named 1989 hit. During his career, Hammer would tour, perform and record with his brother 2 Bigg MC or Too Big (releasing a song in which he considered himself as "King of the Hype").
The kids then toss Hammer back over the fence as he cries out, "You're not supposed to touch this!" He also appeared in an ad for Nationwide Insurance which made fun of his sudden fall from fame and wealth. In 2004, "U Can't Touch This" was licensed by Purell for a series of commercials.
It was also used in a Hallmark Cards commercial.
Hammer also began the trend of rap artists being accepted as mainstream pitchmen. Ironically, three of Hammer's biggest detractors (LL Cool J, Run D.M.C.
and Ice Cube), would also appear in ads later.
In one of the episodes of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy called Goodbling and the Hip-Hop-Opotamus Irwin wears clothing similar to that of MC Hammer and dances to a variation of "U Can't Touch This".
The Simpsons have made numerous references to MC Hammer throughout its run. in Stanford, California in July 24, 2008.
Dancing
Hammer's dance style not only helped pave the way for the Bay Area Movement called Hyphy, but also helped to bring hip-hop and rap to the Bay Area.
One phenomenal difference from Hammer versus other performers during his heyday, is that he was an entertainer, both during live shows and in music videos. His flamboyant dancing was as much a part of his performances as rapping and musical instruments were.
He would later suffer injury to his knee that halted his dancing career for a period of time. Eventually, BET ranked Hammer as the 7th Best Dancer Of All Time. Some of Hammer's entourage, or "posse" as he called them, were also trained/skilled dancers. They participated in videos and at concerts, yet too many dancers and band members eventually contributed to Hammer's downfall, proving to be too much for him to finance.
Hammer is still active in the dance media/genre, both on television shows and as co-founder of DanceJam.com (which showcases dance competitions and instructional videos on all the latest dance styles). Well known for bringing choreography to hip-hop, many of his dancing skills can now be seen on this dance-focused social networking site.
It's the core of our culture,” Burrell told Wired News.
In addition to his websites and other Internet appearances, Hammer has also appeared demonstrating much of his dancing abilities on talk shows such as The Arsenio Hall Show, Soul Train, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The View and was a dancing judge on Dance Fever (2003 TV series). On June 3, 2009, he performed the "Hammer dance" on Live with Regis and Kelly with Will Ferrell as co-host.
Hammer would go on to win many awards (including 3 Grammy Awards) and specifically be nominated for his dancing and choreography skills, while selling over 50 million records.
Christian Influence and Pastoral Career
In 1984, Hammer began attending Bible studies, joined a street ministry, and formed a gospel rap group known as the Holy Ghost Boys featuring Jon Gibson, another musician interested in inspirational music. In 1986, Kirk Burrell, along with Tramaine Hawkins, performed with Jon's band doing several concerts in various halls such as the Beverly Theatre in Beverly Hills.
They collaborated on Gibson's 1988 album (Change of Heart) for a gospel-charged rap "This Wall" prior to Hammer's mainstream success. This was CCM's first rap hit ever, by anyone, not to mention by a Caucasian (Gibson) and/or a duo. Burrell also produced "Son of the King" at that time, releasing it on his debut album.
His awareness of this could be found in a movie he made called Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em: The Movie (1990).
As a tribute to his faith, Hammer vowed to dedicate at least one song on each album to God. Hammer later reaffirmed his beliefs in October 1997, and starred in the ministry television show MC Hammer and Friends on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Hammer officiated at the celebrity weddings of actor Corey Feldman and Susie Sprague on October 30, 2002 (as seen on VH1's The Surreal Life), and also at Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil and Lia Gerardini's wedding in January 2005. During an interview on TBN (between 1997-1998), Hammer claimed he adopted the M.C.