Before Drake was a commercially beloved entity and blamed for sucking purity out of Hip Hop, there was MC Hammer. Following the massive success of his 1990 “U Can’t Touch This” single, the pioneering rapper went on to join the elusive Hip Hop diamond-selling album club with his breakout third album, Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em, which would go on to sell a relatively modest number of records: 22 million to be exact.
Redman may have enough accolades to constitute the title of the GOAT but even he had to learn the hard way about the power being on top the Hip Hop food chain can bring an artist.
As everyone should know, every increased measure of success also increases the target on your back and as his empire grew larger, Hammer took shots and subliminal from all areas of the rap game’s map. Even out of Brick City, when Redman used the dancing sensation as fodder on his “Funky Uncles” skit from his seminal 1992 debut Whut? Thee Album.
The album was released at a time when Hammer had a bankroll to pay his entire Oakland hood (and then some), which apparently enabled him to have plenty of goons ready to put in work just because a rookie rapper wanted to mouth off.
“That g*ddamn MC Hammer? [He was] very serious about beef,” Reggie Noble passionately told DJ Vlad. “Y’all mu’fuckas laugh and y’all joke about Hammer? No, no, no, no!! That nigga was deep with niggas! Anybody who talked shit, come to the Bay Area, they was in for it. ‘Cause we seen it. I seen it! And, he was very serious about beef. ‘Oh. You gon’ talk about my dancing pants? I’ll see you.’ And, he would whoop a nigga out.”
During the final taping of the storied Yo! MTV Raps in 1995, Redman said he got his face to face with MC Hammer three years after the “Funky Uncles” skit and it was a session in humility.
“That nigga came up to me on [Yo! MTV Raps] on the last episode they had,” said Red. “That nigga approached me. He was like ‘Red, I’ma tell you somethin’. You young but I don’t allow nobody talkin’ about my mama. You understand me?’” “I said, ‘Yes, sir,’” Redman remembered with a laugh.
Before the confrontation, Red said he and Mobb Deep and previously engaged in a beef that was too short-lived to even make it onto wax. He also harbored on a previous encounter he had in Oakland when he was traveling with EPMD and they got “boxed in” by several cliques ready to smother them just for the comedic interlude. Thankfully, it didn’t come to bloodshed or Band-Aids.
“He shook my hand. He was like ‘You a youngin’. I like what you do. But, you just know I don’t play nobody talkin’ bout my mama.’”
Redman also said the “Funky Uncles” skit came from an earnest place: “He was so large, I had to get at him.”
Watch the 1994 BET Rap City interview when Hammer referred to Redman as a “punk” and how he had to chin-check A Tribe Called Quest (namely Q-Tip) for the shot heard ’round the world on “Check the Rhime.”
https://youtu.be/DIN2u0_SPOU
Redman u got off light. I heard crazy stories of what MC Hammer had his goons do to other artist who made fun of him and his looks. Count ur blessings Redman.
Hammer is that quiet as kept dude like Master P who was running shit with real thugs behind him in the hood. It’s why I don’t go along with the soft shit with Drake either because I know official dudes in Memphis said they crossed paths with him when he was a nobody before he blew up. Same thing with Oakland and Hammer, certain cities if you had respect from the locals, I can’t hate on you.
I heard he once got his goons to r.a.p.e some niggas who dissed him
jesus….please stop trying your darnest to tie Mc Hammer to Drake. Its absurd. MC hammer is a one-hit wonder who had one song that dominated the clubs for 3 months in a time when house music and C&C music factory played between rap tracks. Drake has 100+ versatile hits and clearly changed hiphop forever. Love him or hate him, all you hear is sing-songy wanna-be Drakes on the radio these days. Drake can put together a lyrical bars and doesnt have back-up dancers. Plus has the respect of the gawds: Q-Tip, Ghostface, Redman, Eminem, Nas, Jay-Z, Kanye, Cee-Lo, Kweli, KRS-One and plenty of straight legends are on record as fans. The best comparison to Drake would be 2Pac, Biggie, LL Cool J or Jay-Z who were all dismissed as pop fakes by suburban hiphop nerds who thougth Buckshot Shorty and Rawkus Records were gonna save “real” hiphop.
Shit up bitch!
Hammer was a one hit wonder? Are you crazy you don’t know shit
Are you serious? A 1-hit wonder, lol? You must be young. I wasn’t a fan of his music, but Hammer was the original pop crossover rapper with all kinds of hits that got spins.
Know your history. Hammer had a string of hits.
morons. “U cant touch this” was MC hammer’s big hit and he was a one-hit wonder. “Have you seen her” and “2 Legit to Quit” were simply riding the waves of that monster single. So be it, fools. Mc Hammer can have 20 hit songs if you want to believe that dream, He still a small fry to compared to Drake. He wasnt running the game nor respected by anyone taken seriously. He was considered a joke. get real people
The ones that are always made fun of and hated on are usually the toughest ones. Just ask Drizzaveli. #DrakeIsLoveDrakeIsLife
Mc Hammer had more than one hit,his first two albums had hits.Me hammer second album sold more than 17 mills.I’m not a Hammer fan,but a fan of music especially Rap/HipHop since the 80’s.
Yo god dayum !! Hammer sold how much? WTF I remember his music from my younger days. But I had no clue he sold that many records. Wow , every ten years or so some pop rapper comes and goes h.a.m. on the sales and charts. Then it’s like they fall off the face of flat? Earth. Hammer, Nelly, Drake in the pop rap hall of fame. Like them or not they got party classics. Throw on some hammer and watch somebody start doing the typewriter lol. Pop Hop is King
GTFOH drake soft period, hammer had dudes from his hood with him, Drake got a swat team paid by his record label, huge difference.
Even hammer wrote his own lyrics
You clowns take this music shit WAY too serious. Even tho Drake and most so called rappers nowadays are hella wack, just listen to whatever shit you like and move on with your lives.
The Dancing in the Jay -z diss is cold..I started pop battling him
Haha hammer a wide pant shiny OG. Funny but cool at the same time.
Hammer was deeeeep, deep in the game. That’s a funny story tho, Hammer was getting it, probably still be paid now if he wasn’t bankrolling everyone. He had a palace that overlooked the hood. look it up, that spot was palatial.
Didn’t hammer get into the tech biz .. i remember him talkin about planning some search engine or shit.. this was years ago so i guess it’s safe to assume that didn’t work out cuz i sure as hell don’t recall reading anything about the project ever since
Rappers used to be grown men. Their presence, regardless of what they wore, commanded respect. Rappers now, BEG for respect, but can’t get it, because they’re not respectable men, they’re spoiled kids.
PREACH!