Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em

''Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em'' is the third studio album by American rapper MC Hammer, released on February 12, 1990 by Capitol Records and EMI Records. Produced, recorded and mixed by Felton Pilate and James Earley, the album was made on a small budget of around $10,000 and recorded on a modified tour bus between May 1988 and November 1989.

''Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em'' received lukewarm reviews from critics, yet received five nominations at the 1991 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, becoming the first hip hop record to be nominated in this category, as well as winning five awards at the 1991 American Music Awards. The album is considered Hammer's mainstream breakthrough and a commercial juggernaut. It peaked at number one for twenty-one weeks on the US ''Billboard'' 200, becoming the first rap recording from a solo artist to top the pop chart, and was the best-selling album of 1990. It was the first hip hop album to be certified diamond in the US, was certified platinum in several countries, and was one of the best-selling hip hop albums worldwide, selling more than 18 million units to date.

Six official singles were released to promote the album, including the smash hit "U Can't Touch This" which reached the top 10 at the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and peaked at number one in Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden, and number 3 on the UK Singles Chart. Following the album's success, Hammer embarked on the Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em World Tour, which stretched from 1990 to 1991 with 144 dates, grossing over $32 million.

Background

Hammer's previous album, ''Let's Get It Started'', had sold over 1.5 million units in the United States by the end of 1989. Not satisfied with the platinum success, Hammer chose to deviate from the standard rap format in his next album. Though some purists criticized him for being more of a dancer than a rapper, Hammer defended his style: "People were ready for something different from the traditional rap style. The fact that the record has reached this level indicates the genre is growing."

While on tour in the summer of 1988, Hammer started to record his third studio album on a modified tour bus. After spending part of his advance from Capitol Records on $50,000 worth of equipment for the back of the tour bus, he used his free time on the road to record his next album. It was produced, recorded and mixed by Felton Pilate and James Earley on the bus in 1989. According to ''Guinness World Records'', the album cost just $10,000 to produce, roughly the same budget as Hammer's independent debut. Capitol marketed the album by sending free cassette singles and a personalized letter to 100,000 children, most of whom were Black or Hispanic. The letter, signed by Hammer, asked young people to phone MTV and request his video.

Album overview and promotion

The album was supported by the single "U Can't Touch This"; 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"). The album was notable for sampling other high-profile artists: " Dancin' Machine" sampled The Jackson 5, "Help the Children" (also the name of an outreach foundation Hammer started)
interpolates Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", and "She's Soft and Wet" sampled Prince's " Soft and Wet".

Following the album's success, Hammer toured extensively in Europe, including a sold-out concert at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. With the sponsorship of PepsiCo International, Pepsi CEO Christopher A. Sinclair went on tour with him in 1991.

Critical reception

Hammer experienced critical backlash over the repetitive nature of his lyrics, his clean-cut image and his perceived over-reliance on hooks from other artists for the basis of his singles. ''Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em'' was also criticized for its sampling of songs by other musicians. Hammer was dissed in music videos by The D.O.C. and Ice Cube. Oakland hip-hop group Digital Underground mocked him in the CD insert of their '' Sex Packets'' album by placing his picture with the other members and referring to him as an unknown derelict. He was also mentioned in the song "The Humpty Dance", with Shock G claiming: "People say 'Ya look like MC Hammer on crack, Humpty!'" On LL Cool J's track " To da Break of Dawn", Hammer is referenced as an "amateur, swinging a Hammer from a body bag is pants. Additional lyrics included "my old gym teacher ain't supposed to rap." He later referenced Hammer in " I Shot Ya (remix)", a track on his 1995 album '' Mr. Smith''. However, LL Cool J would later compliment and commend Hammer's talents on VH1's'' 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop'', which aired in 2008.

The album received five nominations at the 1991 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, becoming the first hip hop record nominated in this category. ''Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em'' won Best Rap Solo Performance and Best R&B Song for "U Can't Touch This" and Best Music Video, Long Form for the film accompanying the album. The album also won five awards at the 1991 American Music Awards, including Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album and Favorite Pop/Rock Album.

Commercial reception

Released on February 12, 1990, ''Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em'' reached the number one position on the US ''Billboard'' 200 in the week ending June 9, 1990, becoming the first rap album from a solo artist to reach the top spot on the pop charts. It remained a total of 21 weeks at the top of US ''Billboard'' 200, the longest run by a male black artist since Michael Jackson's '' Thriller''. Likewise, the album saw longevity on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, peaking at No. 1 and staying atop the chart for twenty-nine weeks. Most of the singles released from the album proved to be successful on radio and television, with "U Can't Touch This", "Pray", "Have You Seen Her", " Here Comes the Hammer" and UK exclusive "Yo!! Sweetness" all charting. 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 vinyl single with no other format available.

By August, the album was selling over 100,000 copies a day. In fewer than six months, it sold more than four million copies, making it the best-selling rap album at the time, beating Beastie Boys' ''Licensed to Ill.'' By January 1991, the album reached 8 million units sold, becoming the first album to do so in one calendar year since Prince's '' Purple Rain'' in 1984. By May 1991, the album was certified diamond with over ten million sales in the US. It was the top-selling album of 1990 in the United States, and is one of the best-selling hip hop albums of all time.

In Canada, the album was the sixth best-selling album of 1990, and the single "U Can't Touch This" was the sixth best-selling single of that year. Eventually, the album was certified 8× platinum for selling over 800,000 units in the country, and won International Album of the Year at the 1991 Juno Awards. The album was also certified triple platinum in New Zealand. In May 1991, Hammer received an award for sales of more than 1 million units of the album in EMI Music Worldwide's international territories of Japan, SE Asia, Australasia, Africa and Latin America. As of July 1991, it had sold 17 million copies worldwide.

Lawsuits

Rick James sued Hammer for copyright infringement 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, allowing him to earn royalties. Hammer was also sued by a former producer, Felton Pilate, and by several of his former backers. Additionally, he faced charges that performance troupe members endured an abusive, militaristic atmosphere.

In 1992, Hammer 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". Hammer settled with Abdullah for $250,000 in 1995.

Track listing

Samples

"Work This"

*" Let's Work" by Prince

"Help the Children"

*"Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" by Marvin Gaye

"Here Comes the Hammer"

*" Super Bad" by James Brown

"Pray"

*"When Doves Cry" by Prince
*"We Care a Lot" by Faith No More

"U Can't Touch This"

*"Super Freak" by Rick James

"Yo!! Sweetness"

*" Give It to Me Baby" by Rick James
*"Your Sweetness Is My Weakness" by Barry White

"She's Soft and Wet"

*" Soft and Wet" by Prince

"Black Is Black"

*"Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud" by James Brown

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Film

The ''Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em'' album was accompanied by a direct-to-video film titled ''Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em: The Movie''. It stars Hammer as a rapper who returns to his old neighborhood and defeats an illegal drug trade dealer who is using kids to traffic his product. Hammer plays the 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. 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 One Cause One Effect.

Additional releases included ''The Making of Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em'', ''Hammer Time'' and ''Here Comes the Hammer''. All projects were Capitol Records Productions.

See also

*List of best-selling albums in the United States
* List of number-one albums of 1990 (U.S.)
* List of number-one R&B albums of 1990 (U.S.)

References

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1990 albums
MC Hammer albums
Capitol Records albums
EMI Records albums
Juno Award for International Album of the Year albums