Pumps and a Bump
"Pumps and a Bump" is a song by Hammer from his 1994 album The Funky Headhunter.[2] The single peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart and No. 26 on the Hot 100, making it the final Top 40 hit of Hammer's career.
"Pumps and a Bump" | ||||
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![]() Single cover | ||||
Single by Hammer | ||||
from the album The Funky Headhunter | ||||
Released | February 28, 1994 | |||
Recorded | 1993 | |||
Length | 5:05 | |||
Label | Giant | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Hammer, Gerald Baillergeau[1] | |||
Hammer singles chronology | ||||
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Release and reception
"Pumps and a Bump" was the first single off The Funky Headhunter, which represented a departure from Hammer's previous pop image.[3] The track contains a sample of George Clinton's 1982 single "Atomic Dog".[1]
The original music video featured Hammer wearing nothing but a Speedo and dancing suggestively alongside numerous swimsuit-clad women, which resulted in it being banned from MTV as it was considered too graphic.[4] An alternative video was filmed with Hammer fully clothed[5] and featuring an appearance by Deion Sanders, while promoted as representing a remix of the song.[6]
Pop culture impact
Hammer appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show in response to the controversial music video in the mid-1990s.
In 2010, American Idol contestant Larry Platt performed his own song titled "Pants on the Ground", which Entertainment Weekly claimed sounded similar to "Pumps and a Bump".[7] Spin magazine described the banned music video as "'Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show' cranked to 11".[3]
The 2017, Fifth Harmony song "He Like That" contains a portion of the song in its chorus.
Chart positions
Charts | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 26 |
Additional chart positions: US R&B No. 21 / US Rap No. 3 / US Dance No. 34
References
- ""Pumps and a Bump"". Discogs.
- "The Funky Headhunter - MC Hammer". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
- Staff (August 15, 2013). "A DECADE IN RAP CENSORSHIP (1990-1999)". Spin. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- Sanchez, Karissa (June 27, 2013). "25. Hammer's animal skin Speedo - The Worst Hip-Hop Fashion Fails of All Time". Complex. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- Holmes, Dave (June 12, 2014). "Dave Holmes Hits the Summer Songs of 1994". Vulture. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- Billboard (April 16, 1994), p. 48.
- Slezak, Michael (January 14, 2010). "'American Idol' recap: Devil Went Down to Georgia". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010.