Talk:MC Hammer

selling out

I was surprised to see that the wiki article on Hammer claims he sold out. In all seriousness in order for one to be considered a sell out doesn't one have to have some measure of legitimacy to start with to sell out? In a rap culture of NWA, Run DMC, and Public Enemy - MC Hammer was a black Vanilla Ice. Hell, Vanilla Ice had more street cred than Hammer. Hammer was made for white suburban people from the onset.

First of all, you are merely using this talk page to give your opinions. They are not facts as you apparently have no knowledge of either artist's past. Just because media labels someone something doesn't make it fact. It is not about "street cred" regarding being considered a sell out. You have mentioned three opinions (not facts) regarding his status. Secondly, the article mentions his "sell out" status for two reasons: 1. media/fans said that of him and is not something that can really be proven. 2. another reason he is/was considered a sell out if applicable (this can be researched as facts, not opinion) is because he was (contrary to your comments) actually someone who lived a "street life" but didn't brag about it in his lyrics or appearance/shows. Nonetheless, some of his songs (such as Crime Stories) did talk about street hustling, and pimping and prostitution, crime, etc. He experienced that lifestyle growing up but decided to make a conscientious decision not to go that route in life, unlike his counterparts (he was friends of known "gangster rappers") and other thugs as shown in his videos and personal film. He would attack rappers in his lyrics which is why "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em" was a follow up album, to distance from doing such and not trying to overshadow other rappers/entertainers because of his high energy shows, dancing techniques, disses towards other rappers, etc. So he actually "sold out" by doing what was perceived as clean pop rap (although some songs not as well known were still lyrically street whether they sounded that way or not) when he was in reality from "the streets" and because he did commercials and TV show appearances, etc. No one from "the hood" was doing that at the time, in fact most musicians/singers/rappers/entertainers/actors weren't. The other reason he was considered a sell out was because once the sound/image of rap changed, he changed/adapted with it. So he actually readopted what he was familiar with and grew up around, but was seen as someone selling out when in reality, just his sound/look changed from his previous popular albums that seemed more listen-friendlier and "pop". He had more success doing that than being a 'gangsta rapper'. And to say he has less street cred than VI is not important, and is not even true being he was from Oakland and didn't front about being from somewhere he wasn't as a gimmick to sell records. You should do some research first, before claiming something as truth based on hearsay or your interpretation. You have to actually hear it from his mouth and do a little investigating, not believe everything you read and hear because the media likes to "gossip" and people like to "trash" someone out of jealousy. Just saying, I hope this answers your ? and clears up your misconceptions. P.s. Aside of the Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em Movie and lyrics to his less popular songs that were publicly suppressed/sabotaged, seeing interviews of Hammer back-in-the-day about his childhood and upbringing, neighborhood, and his decision not to get into drugs and gang life which was around him, allows me to leave this post with confidence it is truth and not some made up clouded judgment or opinion based on false reporting and misunderstood/misconstrued information. I hope you are wiser, as ignorance is what causes such fallacy in society. Take care! 74.62.92.20 (talk) 22:06, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

¶ I think mention should be made of a TV commercial aired in 2005 for Nationwide Insurance (& financial planning): It begins with Hammer and what appears to be his dance troupe performing "You Can't Touch This" in front of what is clearly a fabulous mansion, with a glowing banner displaying an enormous "H" hanging from the balcony, as moving men bring in an enormous portrait of him. Then the screen goes to black with the caption "Fifteen minutes later..." and the picture then shows Hammer sitting on the grass outside the same mansion next to a realtor's For Sale sign, with the additional word "Foreclosed", as moving men in the background take the same enormous portrait out of the mansion, remove the H from the balcony and load his sportscar onto a flatbed truck, followed by the message "Life comes at you fast." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_ngpyRuFg8 . Hammer was willing to be humorous about his meteoric career in return for a paycheck for the commercial. Sussmanbern (talk) 03:07, 24 February 2013 (UTC)

Basically, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Why prove something to people who won't listen? Join the band wagon and make bank while you're at it. Ever heard of Jessica Simpson? (smile) P.s. If you had read the article, it mentions why Hammer was considered a "sell out" (beyond the intro) and it already mentions Nationwide Insurance (all the details of the commercial are not necessary in the article). 74.62.92.20 (talk) 22:06, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

FYI: the comment about Hammer being made for suburban whites is also racist. Hammer didn't go to a white record producer and ask for help/funding (or willing to dance in baggy pants to sell records), he was selling music from his trunk and recording his own tracks. A record label came to him after hearing a song of his. If you look at the audiences of many black artists like you mention above (ie. NWA) or even Michael Jackson, you will see in music/archive videos that many [fans] are white. Whites are the ones who were spending money on the music, so if he's a sell out because so many whites liked him, then so is Will Smith, NWA, MJ and many others. A white guy (co)-founded rap groups like DMC and Beastie Boys. "White" record producers gave life to many black artists. If whites were spending money on concerts and albums, that doesn't make the singer the sell out. If blacks want to take ownership of a talent after the fact, especially once they die (claiming they were one of them), just look at who was paying for the music and concerts. More often, even with black gangsta rappers, were white. That is not why Hammer is a sell out. This isn't a racial issue. It's a commercial and image or music style change that caused him to be considered a "sell out". Stick to the facts, not contentions/assumptions. Don't confuse "sell out" with the color of somebody's skin or someone's upbringing/lifestyle/experiences, etc. (That is disrespectful, insulting, bigotry and foolishness.) Thanks! :) P.s. Hammer started before Ice did. 74.62.92.20 (talk) 22:12, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

Newspaper article

I've removed the clean-up tag that has, since January 2011, noted that it reads like a newspaper article. There have been several improvements since then. If you feel there are some spots that are still too much like a newspaper rather than an encyclopedia, please leave a note here. Be specific. Folklore1 (talk) 03:45, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

DanceJam

Is anyone willing to create an article linked from this article for Dance Jam? If anyone is creating a page before I do, please advise. Thanks! (re: Hammer's dancejam.com website.) 69.129.170.102 (talk) 05:48, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Dancejam.com is no longer in use and was sold. It is now mentioned within the article with sources. Probably no use creating an article for it now. 64.134.27.229 (talk) 13:16, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

References

Is there a problem with the references? There are multiple references listed for the same numbers. Alphius (talk) 22:07, 17 November 2011 (UTC)

When a list of references is cited by a single in-line footnote, it limits how you can cite these references at other points in the text. You have to cite the entire list or write a new footnote for the more appropriate source from the list. I think it would be more efficient to create a separate footnote for each reference, so that individual reference names can be applied. Then we could easily recycle a reference later in the text by citing its reference name. Folklore1 (talk) 03:27, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

MC Hammer or M.C. Hammer? (never mind!)

Which one is it? I see both versions used through the article. /EDIT: Oh sorry all, disregard this entry; I see now that this has already been discussed. I am leaving the entry as it is (i.e. not delete it) for historical/archive purposes. ;) --Wayfarer (talk) 04:02, 1 March 2012 (UTC)

The internet and certain publications just tend to show/print it as MC, but if you look at his early albums (or press/media-releases), they use(d) periods. M.C. would be the "intials" or abbreviation for "Master of Ceremonies", requiring periods. But for "short-hand" purposes, it is usually seen as MC online. Additionally, later albums of Hammer's do not use periods. Perhaps due to times changing, punctuation was unnecessary. Nonetheless, in some contexts it is M.C. early in his career, and MC later in his career. Either way, it should technically be M period C period. (Yes, I also acknowledge this was already discussed above.) 64.134.27.229 (talk) 13:37, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

Recent edit attempts

Regarding difficulties with saving edits after unrelated changes were made by some users (ie. 209.103.209.92), statements such as these were not allowed to save again, even though they were pre-existing within the respective sections of the artcile and edits were accurate:

• "There is a harder edge, but I'm no gangsta.", Hammer said.
• "Gangsta Lean" by DRS.
• "...since he unsuccessfully attempted to recast himself in the streetwise "gangsta rap" mold of the day...", etc.

For example, the use of "gangsta" even in context, was the reason the edit was "flagged" with an error message. Either report it or remove it. This is just an "fyi". 64.134.54.102 (talk) 10:27, 27 July 2012 (UTC)

That's the conclusion I got. Even though I wasn't adding the words "gangsta", they were already in the text/section. Too bad it won't flag/show an error message every time someone edits an article with the words "reality show" in it on here. (smile) Thanks! 209.103.209.92 (talk) 07:54, 1 August 2012 (UTC)

Tried 'gangster' to see if Wiki would accept that instead, but it didn't work either so then I tried to link it to the gangsta article section at least, but it didn't work either. I added 'gang member' instead and it worked. FYI, to future editors. 99.129.112.89 (talk) 07:19, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

RE: removing Ross as an associated act

Discuss on talk page and with a concensus changes can be made. It is sourced. MANY articles including Hammer's list associations that may be once or more. You can prove a lack of other contributions between the two artists. Just because every/all activities aren't mentioned within the article does not mean they don't associate together (not everything is public/common knowledge). Regardless, I can give you other examples of one-time associations with other artists as well. This is petty and seems to be sabotage (deliberate suppression of facts). Please stop creating an edit war so that you achieve your agenda. Thank you! 99.129.112.89 (talk) 00:44, 20 January 2013 (UTC)

PSY or Psy

The article has been changing between Psy, PSY and Psy (entertainer). PSY or Psy is accepted. Stylized publicly as PSY but considered Psy. (Ie. MC or M.C. Hammer) Keep it linking to the article as Psy (entertainer) though. Psy or PSY not as important. I removed a prior section about this topic already because I thought it was resolved. It can be viewed from history. I originally entered it as Psy. Another editor changed it to PSY. Then it was Psy (entertainer) a couple of times or just PSY. So I updated it as it was being discussed and/or changed on Psy's talk page and article. Please just leave as is until/unless the article for the artist changes. Thanks... 99.129.112.89 (talk) 01:29, 20 January 2013 (UTC)

It's stylized as PSY. 74.62.92.20 (talk) 22:23, 28 October 2013 (UTC) Now the article is back to Psy. Very annoying that it keeps changing! 74.62.92.20 (talk) 05:24, 11 November 2013 (UTC)

For future use (save):

Some "notes" to myself for possibly moving sections/info, creating articles and updating this article or related articles about (ie. Diss tracks, hip hop rivalry, answer song, artist's songs/albums such as 2 Legit 2 Quit, Let's Get It Started, Feel My Power and a mostly fun/pop album with Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em as an attempt not to attack rappers/djs as in prior records; considered 'hardcore' prior to "U Can't Touch This" and again with The Funky Headhunter, etc.):

• sold out stadiums and venues (details/info: ie. 90s Rolling Stone article)
• "2 Legit 2 Quit" music video challenged MJ (already included here)
• Lone Mixer (with early albums)
• "Pump It Up (Here's The News)" (disses to rappers in general)
• "Turn This Mutha Out" (disses to rappers/djs in general: "your dj is weak")
• use lyric sites if needed as edit summaries
• "The Thrill Is Gone" (ie. sampled songs)
• Oaktown Posse

99.129.112.89 (talk) 19:17, 29 January 2013 (UTC)

"2" or "Too"/"to"?

"Too Legit to Quit" and "2 Legit 2 Quit" are used many times throughout the article and beyond, often in the same line. Which is the actual song/album title? (no user signature left)

Both were used, lyrically Too Legit to Quit (album) and more often than not "2 Legit 2 Quit" (song) as the hand gesture and [abbreviated] song title. 74.62.92.20 (talk) 21:46, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

Article quality

The quality of this article is very low. While containing a lot of useful information, it suffers from so many problems, it is hard to know where to start. I'm going to start cleaning up the stuff that most egrariously violates wikipedia rules and fix basic grammar and style. Please respond here is you disagree with any of my approaches. Here is the list of problems, as I see them, in order of importance.

• The article is ridiculously hagiographic. (We do not need to include the word 'successful' before every instance of 'career')
• A lot of the sentences are far too long and go off on multiple tangents. Each sentence should be about a single thing.
• It contains a lot of opinion often from questionable sources. Amazon reviews do not count as WP:RS
• The lede is way too long, contains a lot of trivia, and doesn't adequately summarise the subject of the article.
• It contains a lot of trivial details.
• Often the tense changes mid sentence

Ashmoo (talk) 18:49, 2 March 2017 (UTC)

Ambox changes

I have removed {{Cleanup}} template and replaced it with {{Fanpov}}, maintaining the cleanup template's old date. {{Fanpov}} effectively summarizes the original tagger's concern, which was:

Peacock terms, editorialising and irrelevant statements such as "[i]t was also the most successful song by this title."

I have also added {{Multiple dead links}} because this page is in multiple dead link monthly categories. — Mr. Guye (talk) (contribs)  20:09, 19 November 2017 (UTC)

British rapper

Why is he subtitled as “awesome rapper”? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2605:A601:4020:8E00:DD22:CDC1:B751:2F6A (talk) 13:33, 19 May 2018 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you are asking. The article does not call him a British rapper. The only places the article says "British" at all is in discussing his ad for British Knights and discussing a British Knights TV presenter. - SummerPhD^v2.0 16:49, 19 May 2018 (UTC)

I don't know just how the data gets in there, but on the Wikipedia Android app, in the search results, it does indeed list him as 'British rapper', and the top of the page has 'MC Hammer' in bold up top, with 'British rapper' in small type directly underneath. I don't find even the syllable 'Brit' anywhere in the article outside of celebrity/ies and the aforementioned 'British Knights'. But somehow, it's linked up to that phrase. -- J. Randall Owens (talk) 18:19, 21 May 2018 (UTC)

Oh, and the Brit Awards. I first noticed this on the 18th, FWIW. -- J. Randall Owens (talk) 18:28, 21 May 2018 (UTC)

I found it and fixed it, I think. It was in the included Wikidata, from https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q295923 (I don't know how to properly wikilink to it just yet). Anonymous vandalism. -- J. Randall Owens (talk) 18:36, 21 May 2018 (UTC)

Sock puppet edits?

My recent interactions have make it quite clear that MadWiki1, RandoEditing, and likely many of the redlink users on the revision history page, are likely sock puppets of a banned editor. I'm guessing KillerGho$t. Can someone who has been watching this page for longer shed some light on the situation? LK (talk) 12:42, 15 May 2022 (UTC)