MC Hammer

Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper and dancer. He is known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "Pray", "2 Legit 2 Quit" and "Pumps and a Bump", as well as flashy dance movements, extravagant choreography and his namesake Hammer pants. Remembered for a rapid rise to fame, Hammer has also become an entrepreneur and celebrity spokesperson. A multi-award winner, he is considered a "forefather" and pioneering innovator of pop rap (incorporating elements of freestyle music). Born and raised in Oakland, California, Hammer served three years in the United States Navy before independently releasing his debut album Feel My Power in 1986. After signing a contract with Capitol Records, Hammer released his second album Let's Get It Started in 1988, which became his first multi-platinum hit. Hammer became the first hip-hop artist to achieve diamond status with his next album Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em (1990), helping him become one of the most prominent media celebrities of the early 1990s. After being labeled a sell out by the changing landscape of hip-hop music which led to declining record sales for his fourth album, Too Legit to Quit (1991), Hammer unsuccessfully attempted to appeal to the rise of gangsta rap with his next album, The Funky Headhunter (1994). However, due to commercial overexposure, Hammer's popularity waned by the mid-1990s, which led to a highly publicized bankruptcy beginning in 1996. He has since released seven more albums, in addition to multiple songs after 2010. In addition to a Mattel action figure doll and other merchandise, Hammer also starred in a Saturday-morning cartoon titled Hammerman (1991). He became an ordained preacher during the late 1990s and hosted MC Hammer and Friends, a Christian ministry program...