Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em

Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em is the third record (and second major-label studio album) by MC Hammer, released on February 12, 1990[1] by Capitol Records. The album was produced, recorded, and mixed by Felton Pilate and James Earley.

Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em
Studio album by
MC Hammer
ReleasedFebruary 12, 1990 (1990-02-12)
RecordedMay 1988 – November 1989
Genre
Length59:04
Label
Producer
  • Big Louis Burrell
  • MC Hammer
  • Scott Folks
MC Hammer chronology
Let's Get It Started
(1988)		 Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em
(1990)		 Too Legit to Quit
(1991)
Singles from Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em
  1. "U Can't Touch This"
    Released: January 13, 1990
  2. "Have You Seen Her"
    Released: March 16, 1990
  3. "Pray"
    Released: August 21, 1990
  4. "Here Comes the Hammer"
    Released: December 1990

The album ranked number one for 21 weeks on the US Billboard 200, due primarily to the success of the single "U Can't Touch This".[2] Likewise, the album saw longevity on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, peaking at number one and staying at the top for 28 weeks.[3]

The singles released from the album all proved to be successful on radio and video television, with "U Can't Touch This", "Pray", "Have You Seen Her", "Here Comes the Hammer" and "Yo!! Sweetness" (UK only) all charting. The album raised rap music to a new level of popularity. It is the first hip-hop album ever to be certified diamond by the RIAA for sales of over ten million in the United States.[4] It remains the genre's all-time best-selling album.[5] To date, the album has sold as many as 17 million copies worldwide as of July 15, 2012.[6][7]

Album details

Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em was released on February 12, 1990, and features the successful single "U Can't Touch This" (which sampled Rick James' 1981 single "Super Freak"). It was produced, recorded, and mixed by Felton Pilate and James Earley on a modified tour bus in 1989.[8] Despite heavy airplay and a No. 27 chart debut, "U Can't Touch This" peaked at No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart because it was released only as a twelve-inch single.[9] However, the album was a No. 1 success for 21 weeks, due primarily to this single, the first time ever for a rap recording on the pop charts. The song has been and continues to be used in many movies and television shows to date, and appears on soundtrack and compilation albums as well.

Follow-up singles included "Have You Seen Her" (a cover of the Chi-Lites) and "Pray" (a beat sampled from Prince's "When Doves Cry" and Faith No More's "We Care a Lot"),[10] which was his biggest hit in the US, peaking at No. 2. "Pray" was also a major UK success, peaking at No. 8. The album was notable for sampling other high-profile artists and gave some of these artists a new fanbase. "Dancin' Machine" sampled The Jackson 5, "Help the Children" (also the name of an outreach foundation Hammer started)[11] interpolates Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", and "She's Soft and Wet" also sampled Prince's "Soft and Wet".

Hammer toured extensively in Europe, which included a sold-out concert at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. With the sponsorship of PepsiCo International, Pepsi-Cola CEO Christopher A. Sinclair went on tour with him during 1991. By June 1991, the album sold 14.5 million copies worldwide.[12] It would go on to become the first hip-hop album to earn diamond status, selling more than 18 million units to date.[5][13][14][15]

According to Guinness World Records of hit singles, the album cost just $10,000 to produce.[16] The video for "Here Comes the Hammer" proved to be the most expensive video on this album, Hammer's second most expensive behind "2 Legit 2 Quit".[17]

Critical reaction
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[18]
Rolling Stone[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[19]
The Village VoiceC+[20]

A backlash began over the repetitive nature of Hammer's lyrics, his clean-cut image, and his perceived over-reliance on using hooks from other artists for the basis of his singles. He was mocked in music videos by The D.O.C. and Ice Cube. Oakland hip-hop group Digital Underground mocked him in the CD insert of its Sex Packets album when placing his picture in with the other members and referring to him as an unknown derelict, and he was also mentioned in the song "The Humpty Dance" with Shock G dissing him, saying "People say 'Ya look like MC Hammer on crack, Humpty!'". LL Cool J mocked him in "To tha Break of Dawn," a track on his Mama Said Knock You Out album, calling Hammer an "amateur, swinging a Hammer from a bodybag [his pants]," and saying, "My old gym teacher ain't supposed to rap." LL would also refer to the mockery a later time with I Shot Ya (remix), a track on his Mr. Smith album. (LL Cool J would later compliment and commend Hammer's abilities/talents on VH-1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop, which aired in 2008.)

However, Ice-T came to Hammer's defense on his 1991 album O.G. Original Gangster: "A special shout-out to my man M.C. Hammer: a lot of people dis you, man, but they just jealous." Ice-T later explained that he had nothing against people who were pop-rap from the start, as Hammer had been, but only against emcees who switch from being hardcore or "dirty" to being pop-rap so they can sell more records.

Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em was also criticized for its sampling of other musicians' songs.[10] The album sampled high-profile artists and gave some of these artists a new fanbase as a result. "U Can't Touch This" sampled "Super Freak" by Rick James; "Dancin' Machine" sampled the Jackson 5; "Have You Seen Her" is a semi-cover of The Chi-Lites song; "Help the Children" interpolates Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)"; "Pray" and "She's Soft and Wet" sample the Prince songs "When Doves Cry" and "Soft and Wet" respectively.

"This Is What We Do" was a 1990 track released by Hammer (featuring B Angie B) for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film and soundtrack.

Rick James sued Hammer for infringement of copyright on the song "U Can't Touch This", but the suit was settled out of court when Hammer agreed to credit James as co-composer, effectively cutting James in on the millions of dollars the record was earning. Hammer was also sued by a former producer, Felton Pilate (who is also a member of the successful R&B band, Con Funk Shun) and by several of his former backers, and faced charges that performance troupe members endured an abusive, militaristic atmosphere.[21]

In 1992, Hammer also admitted in depositions and court documents to getting the idea for the song "Here Comes the Hammer" from a Texas-based Christian recording artist named Kevin Abdullah. Abdullah had filed a US$16 million lawsuit against Hammer for copyright infringement for his song entitled "Oh-Oh, You Got the Shing".[22] Hammer settled with Abdullah for $250,000 in 1995.[23]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Here Comes the Hammer"Stanley Burrell4:32
2."U Can't Touch This"Stanley Burrell, Rick James, Alonzo Miller4:17
3."Have You Seen Her" (The Chi-Lites cover)Stanley Burrell, Barbara Acklin, Eugene Record4:42
4."Yo!! Sweetness"Stanley Burrell4:36
5."Help the Children"Stanley Burrell, Marvin Gaye5:17
6."On Your Face" (Earth, Wind & Fire cover)Charles Stepney, Maurice White, Philip Bailey4:32
7."Dancin' Machine" (The Jackson 5 cover)Hal Davis, Don Fletcher, Dean Parks2:55
8."Pray"Stanley Burrell, Prince5:13
9."Crime Story"Stanley Burrell5:09
10."She's Soft and Wet"Stanley Burrell, Prince, Chris Moon3:25
11."Black is Black"Stanley Burrell4:31
12."Let's Go Deeper"Stanley Burrell5:16
13."Work This"Stanley Burrell5:03

Samples

"Work This"

"Help the Children"

"Here Comes the Hammer"

"Pray"

"U Can't Touch This"

"Yo!! Sweetness"

"She's Soft and Wet"

"Black Is Black"

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1990) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[24] 5
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[25] 15
Belgian Albums (BEA)[26] 6
Canadian Albums (RPM)[27] 1
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[28] 15
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[29] 24
French Albums (SNEP)[30] 23
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[31] 14
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[32] 16
Irish Albums (IRMA)[33] 8
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[34] 4
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[35] 2
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[36] 14
Spanish Albums (AFE)[37] 14
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[38] 17
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[39] 11
UK Albums (OCC)[40] 8
US Billboard 200[41] 1
Zimbabwean Albums (ZIMA)[42] 1

Year-end charts
Chart (1990) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[43] 8
US Billboard 200[41] 5

Decade-end charts
Chart (1990–99) Position
US Billboard 200[44] 9

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[45] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[46] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[47] 8× Platinum 800,000^
France (SNEP)[48] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[49] Gold 250,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[50] 2× Platinum 400,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[51] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[52] Platinum 15,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[53] Platinum 100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[54] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[55] 2× Platinum 600,000^
United States (RIAA)[56] Diamond 10,100,000[57]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Film

The Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em album was accompanied by a straight-to-video film titled Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em: The Movie (1990),[58] It stars Hammer as a rapper who returns to his old neighborhood and defeats a drug dealer who is using kids to traffic his product. Hammer plays an additional role of preacher "Reverend Pressure". The film costarred Juice Sneed, Keyon White, Joe Mack and Davina H'Ollier.

The movie won Hammer, director Rupert Wainwright and producer John Oetjen a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Long Form at the 33rd Grammy Awards.[59] Besides Hammer, music talent included Ho Frat Hoo! (1991 MTV Video Music Awards Best Choreography in a Video winner for "Pray" along with Hammer), Torture, Special Generation and rapper One Cause One Effect.[60][61][62]

Additional releases included The Making of Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em (1990)[63], Hammer Time (1990) and Here Comes the Hammer (1991). All projects were Capitol Records Productions.[64][65][66]

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See also

References
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  2. MC Hammer. "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em: Information from". Answers.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  3. "Please Hammer Don't Hurt Em". Retrieved 2012-07-13.
  4. "article". community.allhiphop.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-01.
  5. Huey, Steve. "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em – MC Hammer". AllMusic. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  6. "article". newyorker.com.
  7. "article". sing365.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-15.
  8. "MC Hammer: Biography from". Answers.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-26. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  9. Billboard Hot 100 charts: 1990 Each week's chart has a key for a single's format availability (CD, cassette, etc.). Scroll down to any week where "U Can't Touch This" is on the Hot 100, and it will reflect that only a 12-inch single is available.
  10. Corcoran, Michael (May 17, 1990). "MC Hammer: Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
  11. "Recent Press Releases". Macysinc.com. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  12. "Hammer Times". The Los Angeles Times. 1991-06-06.
  13. CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY (2001-06-24). "Rap's Teen Idols Return". TIME. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  14. Cassidy, John. "The Talk of the Town: Under the Hammer". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  15. "MC Hammer Biography". sing365.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-15.
  16. "Music Feats". Guinnessworldrecords.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-22. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  17. Farber, Jim (March 8, 1991). "article". ew.com.
  18. Sandow, Greg (June 8, 1990). "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  19. Considine, J. D.; Brackett, Nathan (2004). "Hammer". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 359. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  20. Christgau, Robert (July 31, 1990). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  21. "MC Hammer: Biography from". Answers.com. Archived from the original on 2013-07-29. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
  22. "Songwriter claims Hammer stole his song: sues him. (Muhammad Bilal Abdullah)". Jet. February 1, 1993. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012.
  23. Weitz, Matt (February 26, 1998). "Hammered". Dallas Observer.
  24. "Australiancharts.com – MC Hammer – Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'em". Hung Medien.
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  27. "RPM 100 Albums". RPM. archived at Library and Archives Canada (Volume 52, No. 14). 18 August 1990. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
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  29. source: Pennanen, Timo: Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, 2006. ISBN 9789511210535. page: 280
  30. "Tous les Albums de l'Artiste choisi". InfoDisc. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  31. "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Knstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de". musicline.de.
  32. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ – Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége". Mahasz.hu. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
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  40. http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/26261/mc%20hammer/
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    • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: albums chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
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  44. Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade – The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
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  51. "Dutch album certifications – M.C. Hammer – Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em in the "Artiest of titel" box.
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  55. "British album certifications – MC Hammer – Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  56. "American album certifications – Hammer – Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  57. "The 10 Best Selling Rap Albums Of All Time In USA". Southpaw – Supporting Eminem. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  58. "MC-Hammer-Please-Hammer-Don-t-Hurt-em-The-Movie - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes - NYTimes.com". Movies.nytimes.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
  59. "Rupert Wainwright – Director". Rwainwright.com. Archived from the original on 2013-07-07. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
  60. https://www.discogs.com/artist/242712-Ho-Frat-Hoo
  61. https://www.watchtheyard.com/kappas/ho-frat-ho
  62. https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/u-cant-touch-this/Content?oid=1371067&showFullText=true
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