MC Hammer

MC Hammer (later Hammer), real name Stanley Kirk Burrell, (born March 30, 1962) was a mainstream American rapper during the 1980s and early 1990s, known for his baggy pants and catchy hooks on songs like "U Can't Touch This".

Later career

Later, Hammer switched record labels and signed with Giant Records. To adapt to the changing landscape of hip-hop, his next album was a more aggressive gangsta rap-style record titled, The Funky Headhunter. Sales dropped from his previous albums and after 1995's Inside Out, Giant Records dropped Burrell from their roster of artists.

Related Topics:
Giant Records - Gangsta rap - The Funky Headhunter - 1995 - Inside Out

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Hammer next signed with Death Row Records, then home to Gangsta Rap stars Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur. The label did not release any of Hammer's music while he was with them. However, Burrell did record music with Shakur. Their collaborative efforts are yet to be released. After the death of Shakur in 1996, Burrell left the record company.

Related Topics:
Death Row Records - Snoop Dogg - Tupac Shakur

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In 1996, Burrell signed with EMI Records, which saw the release of a compilation of Hammer's chart topping songs. The album, Greatest Hits, featured 12 MC Hammer hits. In 1997, MC Hammer (who by that time had readopted the MC) was the subject of an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show and the VH1 series Behind the Music. In these appearances, Burrell admitted that he was broke after squandering more than $20 million. Much of this money was lost on a large mansion that Burrell had built in Fremont, California, 30 miles south of where he grew up. Due to his bankruptcy and lavish finishes that added little value, the ten million dollar house was sold for only five million dollars.

Related Topics:
1997 - The Oprah Winfrey Show - VH1 - Behind the Music - Fremont - California

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Caught up in the September 11 crisis, Hammer rushed production and release of the album Active Duty in late 2001. Sales were poor at best. His Hammertime Holdings company floundered and no other release has been made from his WorldHit Studios record company.

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As early as 2003, production began on Full Blast, another Hammer album. This one had a single, Hard Times, released in late 2004. Rumor has it that the music video for Full Blast was filmed a the world famous "Room" in California, home to other music videos from artists like Busta Rhymes and 50 Cent. Hammer's website http://www.fullblastent.com/ does nothing to shed any light on the subject of the new album.

Related Topics:
Busta Rhymes - 50 Cent

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Hammer was recently seen in a television ad for Lays potato chips. Some kids lose their baseball over the fence of a neighbour apparently infamous for not returning lost toys, so they throw him a bag of chips to appease him. He throws back their ball, their dog, a car belonging to one of the kid's dad and MC Hammer, still dressed in golden sparkle shirt and parachute pants. MC Hammer instantly breaks into the chorus of "Can't Touch This." The kids then toss Hammer back over the fence.

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