MC Hammer

Stanley Kirk Burrell , better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper. Hammer is widely credited for bringing hip hop music to a mainstream audience, being known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit" and "Pumps and a Bump", flashy dance movements, extravagant choreography and his eponymous Hammer pants. Remembered for a rapid rise to fame, Hammer has also been an entrepreneur and celebrity spokesperson.

A multi-award winner, Hammer is considered a "forefather" and pioneering innovator of pop rap (incorporating elements of freestyle music), and is the first hip hop artist to achieve diamond status for an album. After being labeled a sellout, and with the changing landscape of hip hop music, Hammer attempted to appeal to the rise of gangsta rap. However, due to overexposure and critical backlash, his popularity waned by the mid-1990s (which led to a highly publicized bankruptcy beginning in 1996).

Along with a Mattel doll and other merchandise, Hammer starred in a Saturday-morning cartoon called *Hammerman* in 1991. He became an ordained preacher during the late 1990s and hosted *M.C. Hammer and Friends*, a Christian ministry program on TBN. Hammer was also a dance judge on *Dance Fever* in 2003, was the co-creator of the dance website DanceJam.com, and was executive producer of his own reality show titled *Hammertime* (which aired on the A&E Network during the summer of 2009).

Throughout his career, Hammer has managed his own recording business as a record label CEO. As a result, he has created and produced his own acts/music including Ho Frat Hoo!, Oaktown's 3.5.7, Special Generation, Analise, DRS, B Angie B, Gentry Kozia and Oakland Fight Club. A part of additional record labels, he has associated, collaborated and recorded with Psy, VMF, Tupac Shakur, Teddy Riley, Felton Pilate, Tha Dogg Pound, The Whole 9, The Hines Brother, Deion Sanders, Big Daddy Kane, BeBe & CeCe Winans and Jon Gibson. Hammer signed with Suge Knight's Death Row Records in 1995.

BET ranked Hammer as the No. 7 "Best Dancer of All Time". *Vibe*'s "The Best Rapper Ever Tournament" declared him the 17th favorite of all-time during the first round. He continues to perform concerts at music venues and appears in television advertisements, along with participating in social media and ministry/outreach functions. He is also active in community and sports activities, being interviewed locally and nationally.

### Early Life

Stanley Kirk Burrell was born in Oakland, California, on March 30, 1962. His father was a professional poker player and gambling casino manager (at Oaks Card Club's cardroom), as well as a warehouse supervisor. He grew up poor with his mother (a secretary) and eight siblings in a small apartment in East Oakland. He recalled that six children were crammed into a three-bedroom housing project apartment. The Burrells would frequent thoroughbred horse races, eventually becoming owners and winners of several graded stakes.

In the Oakland Coliseum parking lot the young Burrell would sell stray baseballs and dance accompanied by a beatboxer. Oakland Athletics team owner Charlie Finley saw the 11-year-old doing splits and hired him as a clubhouse assistant and batboy as a result of his energy and flair. Burrell served as a "batboy" with the team from 1973 to 1980. In 2010, Hammer discussed his lifelong involvement with athletes on ESPN's *First Take* as well as explained that his brother Louis Burrell Jr. (who would later become Hammer's business manager) was actually the batboy while his job was to take calls and do "play-by-plays" for the A's absentee owner during every summer game. The colorful Finley, who lived in Chicago, used the child as his "eyes and ears". Reggie Jackson, in describing Burrell's role for Finley, took credit for his nickname:

> Hell, our chief executive, the guy that ran our team, uh, that communicated [with] Charlie Finley, the top man there, was a 13-year old kid. I nicknamed him "Hammer" because he looked like Hank Aaron [whose nickname was "The Hammer"].
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Team players, including Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Pedro García, also dubbed Burrell "Little Hammer" due to his resemblance to Aaron. Ron Bergman, at the time an *Oakland Tribune* writer who covered the A's, recalled that: He was an informant in the clubhouse, an informant for Charlie, and he got the nickname "Pipeline".
According to Hammer:

> Charlie said, "I'm getting you a new hat. I don't want you to have a hat that says "A's" on it. I'm getting you a hat that says 'Ex VP,' that says 'Executive Vice President.' You're running the joint around here." ... Every time I come down to the clubhouse, you know, Rollie would yell out "Oh, everybody be quiet! Here comes Pipeline!"
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He acquired the nickname "M.C." for being a "master of ceremonies" which he used when he began performing at various clubs while on the road with the A's, and eventually in the military. Hammer, who played second base in high school, dreamed of being a professional baseball player but did not make the final cut at a San Francisco Giants tryout. However, he has been a participant/player in the annual Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game wearing an A's cap to represent Oakland (American League).

Burrell went on to graduate from McClymonds High School in Oakland in 1980 and took undergraduate classes in communications. Discouraged by his studies at a local college, and failing to win a place in a professional baseball organization, he joined the United States Navy for three years. He served with PATRON (Patrol Squadron) FOUR SEVEN (VP-47) of NAS Moffett Field in Mountain View, California, as a petty officer third class aviation store keeper (AK3), until his honorable discharge.