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Today’s kids probably think rappers have always been purveyors of commercial goods. 50 Cent has Vitamin Water. Diddy and Burger King are partners. Common probably even folds every shirt at The Gap. However, there was a time when rappers weren’t viable salespeople because their music wasn’t reaching a broad segment of the population. In 1990, a Bay Area entertainer who went by the moniker MC Hammer helped set rap on track to be a cultural juggernaut.
His second major label album, Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em, went Diamond in sales due to the ubiquitous “U Can’t Touch This.” The catchy Rick James’ “Super Freak” looped track along with the infamous “Typewriter” dance propelled Hammer into the economic stratosphere. Pepsi came knocking. The British Knights shoe company signed him to a $138 million deal. There was a Hammer doll. And how can we forget the cartoon?
The next calendar year saw Hammer release an album with the title track “Too Legit To Quit.” While it sold three million copies and its own hand signs, Legit couldn’t match Please in terms of impact. Shortly thereafter came the unraveling of MC Hammer's empire. Subsequent recordings drew more criticism than listeners. Excesses such as a bloated payroll, cars, race horses, and an immaculate mansion helped push him into bankruptcy. Throw in a stint with Suge Knight’s Death Row Records and all the elements for a made-for-TV movie were present.
But as they say, the show must go on. Hammer appeared on the “Surreal Life” reality program. He’s still putting out albums and videos in addition to blogging. The commercial endorsements haven’t completely dried up yet but they’re more likely to bring up the fact that he lost just about everything he owned, as he did in a recent Nationwide insurance spot. Whatever one might think about MC Hammer, a tip-of-the-hat is due for his efforts to make rap music more acceptable, and thus more marketable, to the general public. A lot of rappers are wealthier for it.
Image from Yahoo! TV website
MC Hammer performs at the Woodrow Wilson Plaza at the Ronald Reagan Building tonight at 7 p.m. Admission is free. This event is part of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities' "D.C. Grooves" concert series.
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Whatever one might think about MC Hammer, respect is due for his efforts to make rap music more acceptable, and thus more marketable, to the general public.
And all this time I thought Eminem was just an asshole, he was really an ambassador for the hiphop culture who deserves much respect. Mad props, chalk child!
If hadn't already burned my last pair of silver parachute pants because of an unpleasant accident involving 3 Sausage Mcmuffins, you'd be sure to find this monkey hopping around like an idiot at Woodrow Wilson Plaza tonight.
Is he going to be wearing that sweater on stage tonight?
I don't know what to expect.
It should be an interesting night.
i remember when almost every rapper worth his or her.. so called allegence to compton was dogging hammer for doing commercials.. now ice cube is doing flicks and tv-ice t-queen latifah... lord, how the tunes do change when there is change $$$$ on the line...
hammer looks like james baldwin next to the coonish parade that is contemporary hip hop.
Guest #4 - Surely meant "cartoonish" not "coonish" as in coon.
FWIW, I like the third definition the best.
No reflection on MCH, but he is being paid with funds from the sole DC Government agency charged with encouraging artists and community cultural organizations in Washington DC.
DCCAH is the City, County, and State arts agency for DC. There are no alternatives; it is the sole source for public arts funding. The agency even receives federal funds from NEA for this purpose. It should not be producing concerts with touring artists in competition with its own constituency (check the arts and music calendar and see what I mean).
At the very least, this is highly inappropriate expenditure of scarce District and Federal cultural funds.
My parachute pants are at the cleaners, buy say hi to MCH for me. Is he still living in Oakland?
I understand Mike's point, but part of the DCCAH's mission is to offer different art experiences to DC residents. DC Grooves allows thousands of people to enjoy big name artists for free. I for one could not afford the ticket prices of seeing MC Hammer or Little Richard. Why shouldn't funds be spent to expand the cultural opportunities of DC taxpayers?
Guest 11: Beg to differ. If the Blues Society or other DC presenting organizations want to put on a concert with Little Richard on the bill, DCCAH should help - through a competitive, peer-reviewed grants process. That is the long-established, ethical role of a State Arts Agency (SAA). It is not supposed to compete with presenters in its constituency like DCCAH does by hogging the money and the calendar. The agency is long overdue for a change in its Barry-appointed management.
Mike Licht, you might want to disclose that you are a former (and obviously, disgruntled) employee of the DCCAH.
Guest 7+9: And just who are you, my masked friend? A no-bid DCCAH contractor or DCCAH employee?
I ask because each time the Washington Post prints something about the ethically-challenged practices of the current leadership of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the response is a personal attack or other misdirection.
This is not about me, and not about MC Hammer. It is about shoddy practices at DCCAH, about the one-third of program funds diverted from panel-reviewed grants programs for whimsical and questionable purposes.
For the record, anonymous friend, I worked for DCCAH from 1986 to 1996 and for federal cultural agencies as well. I am not disgruntled, merely tired of DC artists and members of community cultural groups asking me what ever happened to the Arts Commission.
I have no wish to work at DCCAH again, but I live in Washington, appreciate the work of our dwindling arts community, and want to see DCCAH resume supportive and professional Best Practices.
It is long past time to clean house at the DC Arts Commission.
hi. i did indeed mean to write "coonish" yesterday. i fear that many of the current rappers have indeed taken us ( and i am black, by the way) to stereotypes more in keeping with
those heart warming (im being facetious, of course) minstrels of the past...
Guest #4/11 - I don't disagree with your point, but given all of the overheated racial rhetoric around here why did you choose to use such provocative language?
So how was the MC Hammer concert?
I enjoyed it. The crowd was interesting--some old fans but mostly folks there to say, "Hey, I went to the Hammer show (hahahaha)." The saddest aspect was for songs such as "Too Legit," "Pray," and "U Can't Touch This," it was obvious that he doesn't own the master tapes to those albums. It was somewhat karaoke-ish. The tunes weren't familiar until he started rhyming.
Two highlights worth mentioning: 1) Hammer going into the crowd as pictured (http://dcist.com/2007/09/07/photo_of_the_da_82.php) and 2) Hammer's vocalist, Pleasure, whose first single deals with safe sex. It was basically an ad for Trojan. I found it humorous.
W Jacarl Melton:
Thanks. So the consensus was that MCH is a joke, not a genius?
Even though I think many people were just there for the spectacle, I didn't feel as though they thought he was a joke. A better description might be he's an older entertainer taking people down memory lane. I feel as though a good portion of the audience had this assessment. After all, Hammer knows what the general public perception of him is. Judging from the performance, though, he just doesn't care.