MC Hammer was a dance judge on Dance Fever in 2003, was the co-creator of the dance website DanceJam.
119 Facts About MC Hammer
2.
MC Hammer signed with Suge Knight's Death Row Records in 1995.
3.
MC Hammer is active in community and sports activities, being interviewed locally and nationally.
4.
MC Hammer's father was a professional poker player and gambling casino manager, as well as a warehouse supervisor.
5.
MC Hammer grew up poor with his mother and eight siblings in a small apartment in East Oakland.
6.
MC Hammer recalled that six children were crammed into a three-bedroom housing project apartment.
7.
In 2010, MC Hammer discussed his lifelong involvement with athletes on ESPN's First Take as well as explained that his brother Louis Burrell Jr.
8.
MC Hammer, who played second base in high school, dreamed of being a professional baseball player but did not make the final cut at a San Francisco Giants tryout.
9.
MC Hammer served with PATRON FOUR SEVEN of NAS Moffett Field in Mountain View, California, as a petty officer third class aviation store keeper, until his honorable discharge.
10.
MC Hammer produced "Son of the King" during this time, releasing it on his debut album Feel My Power, as well as the re-released version Let's Get It Started.
11.
At about the age of 12, Oakland native Keyshia Cole recorded with MC Hammer and sought career advice from him.
12.
MC Hammer released singles from the album, including "Ring 'Em" in 1987.
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MC Hammer would continue to call out other East Coast rappers in future projects as well.
14.
Once signed to Capitol Records, MC Hammer re-issued his first record with additional tracks added, which sold over 2 million copies.
15.
Not entirely satisfied with this first multi-platinum success, MC Hammer's music underwent a metamorphosis, shifting from the standard rap format.
16.
MC Hammer was very good friends with Arsenio Hall, and as such, MC Hammer was first invited to perform the song "U Can't Touch This", prior to its release, on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1989.
17.
MC Hammer performed "Dancing Machine" which later appeared in the Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em: The Movie.
18.
MC Hammer used some of the proceeds from this album to install a rolling recording studio in the back of his tour bus, where he recorded much of his second album.
19.
In 1989, MC Hammer was featured on "You've Got Me Dancing" with Glen Goldsmith, which appeared on Goldsmith's album Don't Turn This Groove Around via RCA Records.
20.
MC Hammer appeared in Glen Goldsmith's music video for this song.
21.
Additionally, MC Hammer released the tracks "This is What We Do" on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie soundtrack, and "That's What I Said" on the Rocky V soundtrack.
22.
MC Hammer was given his own Saturday-morning cartoon, called Hammerman, which he hosted and voiced.
23.
MC Hammer answered his critics within certain songs from the album.
24.
MC Hammer explained how Michael had seen the video and liked it, and both expressed they were fans of one another.
25.
MC Hammer said there were a lot of bidders, but "not too many of them could afford Hammer".
26.
Therefore, MC Hammer parted ways with Felton Pilate and switched record labels to Giant Records, taking his Oaktown label with him.
27.
MC Hammer later became Vice President of Hammer's talent management company, overseeing artists like Heavy D, B Angie B and Ralph Tresvant.
28.
In 1993 and 1994, McCall was involved in several lawsuits against MC Hammer, which were eventually settled out of court.
29.
MC Hammer co-produced this record with funky rapper and producer, Stefan Adamek.
30.
Yet, as with previous records, MC Hammer would continue to call out and disrespect other rappers on this album.
31.
MC Hammer debuted the video for "Pumps and a Bump" during another appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show during the mid-1990s.
32.
In 1995, MC Hammer released the album Inside Out.
33.
In 1995, MC Hammer released "Straight to My Feet" from the Street Fighter soundtrack.
34.
MC Hammer signed with Death Row Records by 1995, then home to Snoop Dogg and his close friend, Tupac Shakur.
35.
MC Hammer later explained his concern about this circumstance in an interview on Trinity Broadcasting Network since he was in Las Vegas with Tupac the night of his death.
36.
In October 1996, Burrell and Oaktown signed with EMI, which saw the release of a compilation album of MC Hammer's hit singles prior to The Funky Headhunter.
37.
MC Hammer released his first album in his new deal with EMI, titled Family Affair, because it was to introduce the world to the artists he had signed to his Oaktown Records as they made their recording debut.
38.
MC Hammer released his 8th studio album, Active Duty, on his own World Hit Music Group label to pay homage to the ones lost in the terrorist attacks.
39.
MC Hammer did however promote it on such shows as The View and produced a video for both singles.
40.
MC Hammer shot a video for the anthem "No Stoppin' Us " in Washington, DC, with several members of the United States Congress, who sang in the song and danced in the video.
41.
MC Hammer decided to move his Oaktown imprint to an independent distributor and released his ninth studio album, Full Blast.
42.
Between 2006 and 2007, Hammer released a military-inspired rap song with a political message to President George W Bush about sending American troops back home from war, called "Bring Our Brothers Home".
43.
In 2008, Platinum MC Hammer was released by EMI Records.
44.
MC Hammer has occasionally released singles over the past few years.
45.
MC Hammer promised to release a track responding to a song by Kanye West featuring Jay-Z which attacked him.
46.
MC Hammer addressed his displeasure about the diss on Twitter, claiming he would react to Jay-Z on Halloween.
47.
MC Hammer released a sample of his "beef" with Jay-Z in a brief teaser trailer called "Better Run Run" by 'King MC Hammer'.
48.
MC Hammer appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show premiering the track "See Her Face" via Flipboard.
49.
MC Hammer released an updated version of his 1990 charting song with a short film video in late 2017.
50.
MC Hammer established Oaktown Stable that would eventually have nineteen Thoroughbred racehorses.
51.
MC Hammer continues to attend shows as well as many sporting events alongside celebrities.
52.
However, a manuscript for an inspirational book called Enemies of the Father: Messages from the Heart on Being a Family Man, for which MC Hammer received advance money to write, was never submitted in 2003.
53.
MC Hammer was a popular web mogul and activist, becoming involved in several Internet projects.
54.
In 2007, MC Hammer was co-founder and chief strategy officer of Menlo Park-based DanceJam.
55.
The community site was exclusively dedicated to dancing video competitions, techniques and styles which MC Hammer sometimes judged or rated.
56.
In July 2010, MC Hammer started a mixed martial arts management company to manage, market, promote and brand-build for fighters.
57.
That same month, MC Hammer announced an apparel line called Alchemist Clothing.
58.
MC Hammer had shown an interest in boxing throughout his career.
59.
MC Hammer headlined at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference for an official after-hours party.
60.
In October 2011, MC Hammer announced a new internet venture called WireDoo, a "deep search engine" that planned to compete with the major search engines, Google and Bing.
61.
MC Hammer produced and starred in his own movie, Please MC Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em: The Movie.
62.
MC Hammer later produced MC Hammer: 2 Legit, which included many actors and athletes.
63.
MC Hammer appeared in major marketing campaigns for companies such as Pepsi, KFC, Toshiba, British Knights and Taco Bell during the height of his career.
64.
MC Hammer made a cameo in the 1993 Arnold Schwarzenegger film Last Action Hero.
65.
MC Hammer would go on to appear as himself on The History of Rock 'N' Roll, Vol.
66.
At the age of 39, he was one of the producers for the VH1 movie Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story, starring Romany Malco and Tangi Miller as his wife, which aired on December 19,2001.
67.
MC Hammer became the second highest-rated original movie in the history of VH1 and broadcast simultaneously on BET.
68.
In 2003, MC Hammer appeared on The WB's first season of The Surreal Life, a reality show known for assembling an eclectic mix of celebrities to live together.
69.
MC Hammer was a dance judge on the 2003 ABC Family TV series Dance Fever.
70.
MC Hammer's eldest child, A'Keiba Burrell, was a contestant on MTV's Rock the Cradle in April 2008.
71.
MC Hammer had shown an interest in having his own reality show with specific television networks at one point.
72.
In 2016, MC Hammer appeared as himself in an episode of Uncle Grandpa on Cartoon Network.
73.
In June 2017, MC Hammer appeared during Beat Shazam on Fox.
74.
MC Hammer has most recently been a spokesman for 3M Command Strips and Starburst.
75.
In September 2020, MC Hammer appeared on The Greatest AtHome Videos via Zoom.
76.
MC Hammer was the first rap artist to put together a choreographed show of this type, and his visual flair attracted heavy airplay for his videos on MTV, which at the time had a predominantly white viewership that had aired little rap music before MC Hammer.
77.
At the height of his career, MC Hammer had his legs insured for a substantial amount of money, as mentioned in an interview by Maria Shriver in 1990.
78.
MC Hammer later suffered an injury to his knee that halted his dancing career for a period of time.
79.
MC Hammer wanted to ensure he was not offended by the ending of the video where a purported Michael Jackson does the "2 Legit 2 Quit" hand gesture with his famous glove.
80.
MC Hammer gave us a song and a sweet melody that will never die.
81.
In 1997, MC Hammer sold his Fremont, California estate and mansion for US$5.3 million, after filing for bankruptcy in 1996.
82.
MC Hammer frequently posted about his life and activities on his blog "Look Look Look", as well as other social websites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter.
83.
MC Hammer has been noted as a popularizer and defender of philosophy in his social media posts.
84.
MC Hammer was an endorser of the SAFE California Act, which, if passed in November 2012, would have replaced the death penalty.
85.
Contrary to public rumor, MC Hammer claimed he was really never "down-and-out" as reported by the media.
86.
Therefore, MC Hammer eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the US Bankruptcy Court in Oakland, California, on April 1,1996.
87.
However, MC Hammer was denied a bankruptcy discharge on April 23,2002.
88.
MC Hammer's mansion was sold for a fraction of its former price.
89.
In 1992, MC Hammer had admitted in depositions and court documents to getting the idea for the song "Here Comes the MC Hammer" from a Christian recording artist in Dallas named Kevin Christian.
90.
MC Hammer would go on to express a similar point in other interviews as well.
91.
MC Hammer responded on Twitter, saying that Mojo was a "coward" and threatened to cancel commercials for his upcoming show.
92.
On November 21,2011, the US government filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in California against MC Hammer to obtain a court judgment on his unpaid taxes for years 1996 and 1997.
93.
MC Hammer appealed, but, on December 17,2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected Hammer's argument that because the government had not listed those taxes in the government's proof of claim filed with the Bankruptcy Court, the government should be stopped from collecting the taxes.
94.
MC Hammer was arrested in 2013 in Dublin, California, for allegedly obstructing an officer in the performance of his duties and resisting an officer.
95.
Police in Dublin, east of Oakland, said MC Hammer was "blasting music" in a vehicle with expired registration and he was not the registered owner.
96.
MC Hammer was booked and released from Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.
97.
MC Hammer officiated at the celebrity weddings of actor Corey Feldman and Susie Sprague on October 30,2002, and at Motley Crue's Vince Neil and Lia Gerardini's wedding in January 2005.
98.
MC Hammer continued to preach while still making music, running a social media business and television show, and devotes time to prison and youth ministries.
99.
From 2009 to 2010, MC Hammer joined Jaeson Ma at a crusade in Asia.
100.
Minister and mentor to Ma for more than a decade, MC Hammer assisted and co-starred in his documentary film 1040, which explores the spread of Christianity throughout Asia.
101.
MC Hammer became a fixture of the television airwaves and the big screen, with his music being used in many popular shows, movies and commercials still to this day.
102.
MC Hammer appeared in major marketing campaigns for companies to the point that he was criticized as a "sellout", including commercials for British Knights during the height of his career.
103.
MC Hammer is well known for his fashion style during the late 80s and early 90s.
104.
MC Hammer established a children's foundation, which first started in MC Hammer's own community, called Help The Children.
105.
MC Hammer; nicknaming himself "MC Elmo" and along with two backup singers they rap a song about the number five called "Five Jive".
106.
In 2005, MC Hammer appeared in a commercial for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company which made a humorous reference to his career.
107.
In March 2009, Ellen DeGeneres made plans for MC Hammer to be on her show after he contacted her via Twitter.
108.
MC Hammer continued to give media interviews, such as being a guest on Chelsea Lately on June 16,2009.
109.
MC Hammer appeared in a Cheetos commercial during the Super Bowl in 2020, the 30th anniversary of "U Can't Touch This".
110.
MC Hammer influenced the music industry with pop culture catchphrases and slang.
111.
Notable feuds and beefs MC Hammer had with other rappers included: LL Cool J, Vanilla Ice, Too Short, Redman, 3rd Bass, Jay-Z, Eminem, A Tribe Called Quest, and Run-DMC.
112.
MC Hammer has sold more than 50 million records worldwide.
113.
MC Hammer has won three Grammy Awards for Best Rhythm and Blues Song, Best Rap Solo and Best Music Video: Long Form taken from Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em: The Movie.
114.
MC Hammer received eight American Music Awards, a People's Choice Award, an NAACP Image Awards and the Billboard Diamond Award.
115.
MC Hammer appeared on gospel music's Stellar Awards show in 1997 and spoke of his renewed commitment to God.
116.
MC Hammer gave his support to Warren Beatty by attending the 36th AFI Life Achievement Awards on June 12,2008.
117.
MC Hammer attended the 2009 Soul Train Music Awards which aired on BET November 29,2009.
118.
At the 40th American Music Awards in November 2012, MC Hammer danced to a mashup of "Gangnam Style" and "2 Legit 2 Quit" along with South Korean pop star Psy, both wearing his signature MC Hammer pants.
119.
MC Hammer received the George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement, presented during the UCLA Spring Sing in Pauley Pavilion on May 17,2013.