675 Hello M.C. Hammer - U Can't Touch This

Chart  entered  : 9  June  1990

Chart  peak  : 3

Number  of  hits : 12

Hip  hop's  Cliff  Richard  now  makes  his  entrance.

Stanley  Burrell  was  born  in  California  in  1962  to  a  large  family. He  got  a  job  as  a  stadium  hand  for  the  Oakland  A's  baseball  team  at  the  age  of  11. He  acquired  the  name  Hammer   there , due  to  a  resemblance  to  player  Hank  "  The  Hammer"  Aaron. He  joined  the  U.S.  Navy  after  leaving  school. He  was  honourably  discharged  after  three  years.

After  leaving  the  navy  he  formed  a  gospel  rap  group,  the  Holy  Ghost  Boys alongside  white  singer  Jon  Gibson. The  group  never  got  a  record  deal  but  recorded  some  tracks  including  "This  Wall"  which  featured  on  Gibson's  subsequent  album  "Change  of  Heart ". A mix  of  Hip  Hop  and  R &  B  , Hammer  did  the  rapping, demonstrating  his  slow, lucid  style.

In  1986, Stanley  got  a  loan  from  a  couple  of  Oakland  A  players  to  set  up  his  own  label Bust  It  Productions. He  released  his  first  album  "Feel  My  Power"  in  1986.  It's  only  33  minutes  long  but  feels  three  times  that  length, a  run  of  the  mill early  hip  hop  album  where  one  track  sounds  much  like  the  next, the  only  variety  coming  from  the  samples  on  "The  Thrill  Is  Gone"  and  an  unidentified  female  singer  on  "I  Can  Make  It  Better". The  crappest  rhyme  award  goes  to  "I  chew  you  like  gum  and  spit  you  out / You're  nuttin' but  a  fish, a  smelt  and  not  a  trout "  on   the  title  track   while  ""Son  of  a  King"  is  a  relic  from  the  Holy  Ghost  Boys  era.  There's  nothing  more  I  can  think  of  to  say  about  it.

Stanley  was  selling  the album  out  of  the  boot  of  his  car  when  a  local  radio  station  picked  up  on  the  track  "Let's  Get  It  Started ". It  gained  in  popularity  while  Hammer  arranged  a  troupe  of  dancers  and  musicians  to  stage  an  energetic  live  show. These  factors  combined  to  impress  a  Capitol  record  executive. In  1988  he  signed  with  them  for  a  $750,000  advance.

In  September  1988  he  issued  a  revised  version  of  "Feel  My  Power"  called  "Let's  Get  It  Started"  comprising  50 %  new  material  though  you'd  be  hard  pressed  to  notice. As  well  as  the  title  track, "Pump It  Up", "Turn This  Mutha  Out!"   and  "They  Put  Me  In  The  Mix"  were  released  as  singles. All  of  the  videos  showcased  his  troop  and  his  baggy-panted  dancing.They  did  not  make  the main  chart  but  the  album  reached  number  30 ,putting  him  on  the  map.

The  singles  were  not  released  in  the  UK; his  first  release  here  being  a  guest  appearance  on  a  Glen  Goldsmith  single  " You've  Got  Me  Dancing".  a  run  of  the  mill  new  jack  swing  track  that  didn't  chart.

For  his  next  album, Hammer  decided  to  move  away  from  the  rhythmic  brutalism  of  his  peers  and  make  a  more  musical  album. This  seems  to  have  meant  using  other  people's  music  for  hooks  and  "U  Can't  Touch  This ", which  he  premiered  on  The  Arsenio  Hall  Show  in  1989, is  a  prime  example.  It's  completely  dependent  on  the  main  keyboard  riff  from  Rick  James's  lewd  1981  U.S. hit  Super  Freak  with  Hammer  fitting  his  boasting  around  it  including  a  repetition  of  the  title  in  the  pauses  before  it  starts  again. James  was  not  initially  credited  and  had  to  go  to  court  to  get  his  due. The  song  catapulted  him  to  superstardom  in  the  U.S.  and  I  suppose  you'd  have  to  credit  him  with  taking  a  risk  that  people  would  accept  him  hi-jacking  such  a  well-known  song. Or  perhaps  they  just  had  short  memories.