MC Hammer : Rap and Hip Hop Royalty

MC Hammer was my gateway and initial exposure to the music of rap and Hip Hop and to him I say thank you and that is why Hammer will always be one of my favorite rap artists of all time and space. MC Hammer was the first and only rapper to my knowledge was dancing and rapping and basically giving the audience the show that they paid for. The song that I first heard was the immortal classic “U Can’t Touch This” which was the song that initially broke MC Hammer and gave his universal and crossover appeal.

When Hammer came out he was wearing what would go on to become known as the Hammer Pants along with much of his cool wardrobe that would also become associated with Hammer. At one point he also had a Saturday morning cartoon called “Hammer Man”. To my knowledge MC Hammer as spokesman for Taco Bell was the only time when a rapper or anyone in music had been a spokesperson and honestly his commercials were great. When the Addams family movie came out in 1991 MC Hammer had done their theme song, which was another hit called “Addams Groove” and the video was a theatrical masterpiece which all of his music videos fall into that category. In the video Raul Julia who played Gomez Addams in the 1991 movie “The Addams Family” and “The Addams Family Values” release in 1993 is also in the video and it was more than just that of a celebrity cameo. Among other of Hammer’s biggest hits to which he raps over a sample of Prince’s “When Doves Cry”. There are so many of his successful songs I’m going to talk about a few more of them such as “2 legit to quit” which is another video that was shot just like a mini movie.

Before MC Hammer became famous he was selling what would become his debut album on a major label right out of the trunk of his car. When Gangsta Rap was just establishing itself as a legitimate genre in rap and hip hop he released a Gangsta rap album called “Funky Head Hunter” under a shortened name of Hammer. It was a change from the rap that he was originally known for I actually heard the album and it’s pretty good and I guess you can say I am trying to say that I liked what I heard which I did. Unfortunately, MC Hammer gets a lot of negativity from the rap and hip hop community that he doesn’t deserve. Think about this because of MC Hammer many in the game who hate on him he made it possible for rappers to do what they do, MC Hammer is one of the pioneers of rap and hip hop. My former friend and I each had an MC Hammer doll but unfortunately a racist family member had thrown it away on me. MC Hammer released “Please Hammer don’t Hurt em” and “Too Legit to quit” with these two albums you have all of the hits that would make him an undisputed icon and legend in rap and hip hop and a pop icon and it also made it possible for him to crossover.

Now though Hammer has had his share of very public problems he had come out of it nicely and survived it. Being that he is also a man of faith and God certainly had made it possible for his redemption. Doing a little research for this article I learned that he isn’t rapping anymore he instead is an investor but every once and a while performs live. I like many out there would like to see Hammer rapping again just saying.