History Trivia / MCHammer

** The videos "2 Legit 2 Quit" and "Addam's Groove" were shot simultaneously. Hammer, high on his recent rise to fame, had huge ambitions for both.

* OneHitWonder: Retroactively, he is only remembered for "U Can't Touch This", even though he not only had five top 10 songs, "U Can't Touch This" was the lowest-charting of the five.[[note]]"Pray" was his highest chart-topper at #2, followed by "Have You Seen Her" at #4, "Too Legit To Quit" at #5, and "Addams Groove" at #7. For all its pop-culture relevance, "U Can't Touch This" only got as high as #8 on the charts, although it did hit #1 on the U.S. R&B charts and #1 overall in several countries.[[/note]] Most of those other hits are forgotten these days, except maybe "Too Legit to Quit".

--->[[WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows Todd in the Shadows:]] Pop rap wasn't dead in the nineties. It had more of an edge, but it was still successful. After Biggie and Pac died, everyone wanted to cool things off. Creator/WillSmith's big solo push was just three years away! Hammer could have waited it out!

* OldShame: Yes, Mr. Hammer was a ChickMagnet, and his style of dress and dance was popular with guys (and other singers) for a while.

* CreatorKiller: He was a HipHop superstar in the early '90s, but the GangstaRap boom caused his goofy, PG-rated persona to go out of style, which led him to adopt a DarkerAndEdgier image on his 1994 album ''The Funky Headhunter''. It alienated his existing fanbase, who saw the new, gangsta-flavored Hammer (he dropped the "MC" from his name) as a betrayal of the parents and kids who made him famous, and was mostly laughed at by actual gangsta rappers, who saw it as a [[PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy ridiculous and shallow pose]] and a [[WereStillRelevantDammit desperate attempt to stay relevant]]. After the failure of ''The Funky Headhunter'', Hammer's ConspicuousConsumption caught up with him, causing him to file for bankruptcy in 1996.

--->[[WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows Todd in the Shadows:]] Pop rap wasn't dead in the nineties. It had more of an edge, but it was still successful. After Biggie and Pac died, everyone wanted to cool things off. Creator/WillSmith's big solo push was just three years away! [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot Hammer could have waited it out!]]

-->[[WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows '''Todd in the Shadows:''']] Pop rap wasn't dead in the nineties. It had more of an edge, but it was still successful. After Biggie and Pac died, everyone wanted to cool things off. Creator/WillSmith's big solo push was just three years away! [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot Hammer could have waited it out!]]

* ChartDisplacement: Most younger listeners would be surprised to hear that "U Can't Touch This" was the lowest-peaking of his ''five'' top-10 hits.

** Prior to the rise of GangstaRap, he was actually seen as rap's possible answer to Music/MichaelJackson simply because of the energy he put into his shows. Odds are that had he not changed his style, or at the very least, adapted better, he might've stuck around longer (at the very least, he would've fared better in the long run).

* TroubledProduction: According to director Ric Minello, an unspecified video involved being filmed in a club late at night. Allegedly some gang members were out to kill Hammer that night. Someone spotted some people outside carrying uzzis and alerted the crew. Police were notified and the club was evacuated. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, but it was a terrifying experience for everyone involved and certainly a surprise that it was MC Hammer of all people that was targeted.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: "Pumps and a Bump", the song that was ultimately the CreatorKiller for him, had 2 music videos - the official one (which showed him dancing in a zebra stripe thong at a party) and a second one (Which showed him and some backup dancers wearing black Atlanta Falcons jerseys). WebVideo/TheRapCritic speculates that had the latter been the official one, it would've aged better, noting that the song itself isn't bad, but the music video makes it impossible to take the song (and, by extension, Hammer) seriously.
** Prior to the rise of Gangsta Rap, he was actually seen as rap's possible answer to Music/MichaelJackson simply because of the energy he put into his shows. Odds are that had he not changed his style, or at the very least, adapted better, he might've stuck around longer (at the very least, he would've fared better in the long run).

** Prior to the rise of Gangsta Rap, he was actually seen as rap's possible answer to Music/MichaelJackson simply because of the energy he put into his shows. Odds are that had he not changed his style, or at the very least, adapted better, he might've stuck around longer (at the very least, he would've faired better in the long run).

* OneHitWonder: Retroactively, he is only remembered for "U Can't Touch This", even though he had six top 40 hits. Most of those other hits are forgotten these days, except maybe "Too Legit to Quit".

** Prior to the rise of Gangsta Rap, he was actually seen as rap's possible answer to Creator/MichaelJackson simply because of the energy he put into his shows. Odds are that had he not changed his style, or at the very least, adapted better, he might've stuck around longer (at the very least, he would've faired better in the long run).

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: "Pumps and a Bump", the song that was ultimately the CreatorKiller for him, had 2 music videos - the official one (which showed him dancing in a zebra stripe thong at a party) and a second one (Which showed him and some backup dancers wearing black Atlanta Falcons jerseys). WebVideo/TheRapCritic speculates that had the latter been the official one, it would've aged better, noting that the song itself isn't bad, but the music video makes it impossible to take the song (and, by extension, Hammer) seriously.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: "Pumps and a Bump", the song that was ultimately the CreatorKiller for him, had 2 music videos - the official one (which showed him dancing in a zebra stripe thong at a party) and a second one (Which showed him and some backup dancers wearing black Atlanta Falcons jerseys). WebVideo/RapCritic speculates that had the latter been the official one, it would've aged better, noting that the song itself isn't bad, but the music video makes it impossible to take the song (and, by extension, Hammer) seriously.

* OneHitWonder: Retroactively, he is only remembered for "U Can't Touch This", even though he had six top 40 hits. Most of those other hits are forgotten these days, except maybe "Too Legit to Quit".

* MeaningfulName: When Burrell worked as a batboy for the Oakland A's, Reggie Jackson nicknamed him "Hammer" due to Burrell's resemblance to a young Hammerin' Hank Aaron.
* NeverLiveItDown: MC Hammer's name has become synonymous with bankruptcy and conspicuous consumptions.

* OldShame: Yes, Mr. Hammer was a ChickMagnet, and his style of dress and dance was popular with guys (and other singers) for a while.

* OldShame: Yes, girls used to get wet for old Mr. Hammer, and his style of dress and dance was popular with guys (and other singers) for a while.

* MeaningfulName: "Hammer" came from Hammerin' Hank Aaron, Burrell's favorite baseball player, whose number 44 he wore when he was a batboy for the Oakland A's.