His debut album Feel My Power was produced between 1986 and 1987 to be released independently in 1987. It was produced by VEH (of Con Funk Shun), and sold over 60,000 copies. In the spring of 1988, a DJ played the track "Let's Get it Started"—a song in which he declared he was "...second to none, from Doug E. Fresh, Cool LL, or DJ Run"—after which the track began to gain popularity in clubs. Hammer received several offers from major record labels after the successful release of the independent album.
Hammer initially refused to sign a contract with Capitol Records, but after a substantial signing bonus was added to his contract, he did. His debut album was then re-released as Let's Get It Started. A new video was shot for "Let's Get it Started," and another video was produced in fall of 1988 called "Pump It Up" (a new track added to Let's Get It Started). The "Pump It Up" video was added to the roster of "new wave" hip-hop videos that premiered or re-aired on the premiere season of Yo! MTV Raps. It depicted hip-hop legends Run-DMC getting disrespected by Hammer. The album eventually went triple-platinum (more than 3 million units sold). "Turn This Mutha Out" (the album's biggest hit), "Feel My Power", and "They Put Me in the Mix" saw heavy rotation on R&B/Hip-Hop radio stations throughout late 1988 into 1989.
His second album, 1990's Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em, included the smash single "U Can't Touch This", which sampled Rick James' 1981 hit "Super Freak". Interestingly, despite heavy airplay, "U Can't Touch This" stopped at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart due to the fact that it was released only as a twelve-inch single. Follow-up hits included "Have You Seen Her" (cover of the Chi-Lites); and "Pray", which had a beat sampled from Prince's "When Doves Cry" and was his biggest hit in the US, peaking at #2. The album went on to become the first hip-hop album to reach diamond status, selling more than 10 million units.During 1990 Hammer toured extensively in Europe which included a sold-out concert at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. With the sponsorship of PepsiCo, PepsiCo International CEO Christopher A. Sinclair went on tour with him in 1991. At the same time, he also appeared in The West Coast Rap All-Stars posse cut "We're All in the same Gang".
The Addams Groove Songfacts that in 1991 Hammer recorded the theme for the launch of the 1990s run of the Addams' Family film series, which introduced a whole new generation of fans to the Addams Family franchise. MC Hammer was still on the rise, and having a rap artist do the theme song added a contemporary feel to the movie, which was based on a '60s TV series about a very creepy family.
Hammer's relationship with Suge Knight dates back to 1988. Hammer next signed with Death Row Records, then home to Snoop Dogg and his close friend, Tupac Shakur. The label did not release any of Hammer's music while he was with them. However, Burrell did record music with Shakur, most notebly the song "Too Late Playa", and the album (Too Late) he recorded leaked onto the internet some years later. Their collaborative efforts are yet to be released. After the death of Shakur in 1996, Burrell left the record company.
In 1996, Burrell and Oaktown signed with EMI, which saw the release of a compilation of Hammer's chart topping songs. The album, Greatest Hits, featured 12 former hits and was released in October, only six months after his bankruptcy.
In 1997, just prior to beginning his ministry, MC Hammer (who by that time had readopted the "MC") was the subject of an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show and the VH1 series Behind the Music (music from his previous album was featured in this documentary). In these appearances, Burrell admitted that he had already used up most of his fortune of over $20 million, proving that money is nothing if it doesn't bring peace.
In 1998, MC Hammer released his first album in his new deal with EMI, titled Family Affair because it was to introduce the world to the artists he had signed to his Oaktown Records as they made their recording debut. This album was highly plugged on Trinity Broadcasting Network but featured no charting singles, and sold only 500,000 copies worldwide.
In 2001, MC Hammer released his 8th studio album, Active Duty, to pay homage to the ones lost in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The album followed that theme, it featured two singles, "No Stoppin' Us (USA)," and "Pop Yo Collar." The album, like its predecessor, failed to chart and would not sell as many copies as previous projects.
After leaving Capitol Records and EMI for the second time in his career, MC Hammer decided to move his Oaktown imprint to an independent distributor and released his ninth studio album, Full Blast, in 2003. The album would feature no charting singles and failed to certify in the RIAA. A video was produced for Full Blast, a song that attacks Eminem and Busta Rhymes.
After going independent, he decided to create a digital label to release his tenth studio album, Look Look Look. The album was released in 2006 and featured production from Scott Storch. The album featured the title-track single, and would sell much better than his previous release (300,000 copies worldwide).
Between 2006 and 2007, Hammer released a military-inspired rap song with a political message to President George W. Bush about sending the American troops back from war, called "Bring Our Brothers Home". The video was filmed at the Santa Monica Pier.
To see current information, check out his official blog: http://mchammer.blogspot.com/
Crime Story
MC Hammer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You get, boy, no glory
Not in these crime stories
I'm tellin? you right now, no glory
Scene I
Too Big and the Hammer rollin? on a hit
Knives in our hands to the sound of the clickAnd now we're ready, we hit the swoove
Windows ease down we spray their crews
Eight fools dead, a baby too
You ask me how I'm livin?, this hit?s for you
But that's not all we got the prize
A mother in a kitchen, now yo, she's dead inside
Yeah, we took them suckers out
They know what time it is now
Crime stories
Homeboys, you get no glory
Not in these crime stories
You ain't gettin? nuthin' on that, no glory
Scene II, me and Too Big at the club
Too Big and the Hammer kickin? it at the club
Boastin? about the way that we pulled those sucker?s plugs
We weren't worried, naw, we didn't care
When you're in this war, yo, all is fair
A tap on my shoulder, I turn around
Too Big is dyin? fast, he's on the ground
I reach for my gat, it was too late
The knives went pointblank range in my face
Yo, they opened fire and took me out
Somebody tell my mother, I love her, man
Crime stories
Boy, you get no glory
I'm not going to mislead my brothers
Crime stories, I'm tellin? ya right now, ah, will they talk? No glory
Scene III, the pimpin? game
Now I'm pimpin? these berries, got to get that money
Those suckers still payin? for a little bit of honey
Nothin? in this world can stop my flow
AIDS ain't done nothin? but help my business grow
My babes are trained to make that dollar
To take you out, fool, it ain't no bother
You dropped your pants and you pay the price
Your money maybe AIDS, fool, and then your life
Yeah, that's right ?cause a pimp got to make it
You know what I'm sayin?
we're talkin? about crime stories
And I ain't givin? up no propers, no glory
Crime Stories, all the real brothers have been locked up
And you know they don't wanna go back, no glory
Scene IV, the pimp got took out by Barry's brother
We got this tip on some new fresh bait
Money in their heads and they could hardly wait
My girls went to their room to make the play
Two suckers at once, yeah, would make my day
Now I'm outside some suckers walk up
Talkin? real hard about smokin? my butt
He pushed the button, the blade came out
Cut me on my throat and then a bullet in my mouth
I guess the devil got all the babes in hell
Maybe he?ll let me work with him? Ssh
Crime stories
I'm tellin? ya, man, you get no glory
?Cause I'm not gonna mislead my young brothers
Crime stories, if you've ever been locked up
You know the true stories, no glory
And I?d like to say this before we get outta here
To my brothers in the game, my brothers
Who are out there doin? what they feel they've got to do
I wanna ask you one favor, let's let the young kids 10, 11, 12 years old
Let's let them go on and do their thing at the schoolhouse
let's give them a chance to make it
Let's give them a chance at a different life
You doin? what you feel you have to do
But they youngsters and they don't know any better
So we want to give them a chance to live
I mean life is precious, and you know that yourself
And you try to make a better life for yourself
So what I'm sayin? this from the bottom of my heart, let the kids be
Help the children lead to another way
And peace from you and I love you and I'm outta here
MC Hammer's "Crime Story" is a song that depicts the violent and tragic reality of gang life. In the song, Hammer raps about the violence and crime associated with the lifestyle and emphasizes that there is no glory in it. The first scene describes a drive-by shooting that results in the deaths of eight people and a baby. The second scene is set in a club, and Hammer is boasting about the previous incident when Too Big is shot dead. In the third scene, the singer is pimping and making money from the women who work for him, and he boasts that AIDS has helped his business grow. The final scene is about the singer being killed in retaliation for his actions.
Through these scenes, the song sends a message that there is no glory in violence and crime. The violence depicted in the song is not glamorous or exciting, but instead, it is senseless and tragic. The final scene, in which the singer asks for young people to be allowed to live a different life, is particularly poignant, highlighting the fact that many people involved in gang life may not have had the opportunity to make different choices.
Line by Line Meaning
Crime stories
No one gets glory from crime stories
You get, boy, no glory
I'm telling you right now, no one gets glory from crime stories
Not in these crime stories
No one gets glory from the crime stories I'm about to tell
I'm tellin? you right now, no glory
I'm telling you right now, no one gets glory from crime stories
Scene I
The first scene is about to begin
Too Big and the Hammer rollin? on a hit
Too Big and I are preparing to carry out a hit
Knives in our hands to the sound of the click
We are armed with knives and ready to attack
And now we're ready, we hit the swoove
We are prepared and executed the attack
Windows ease down we spray their crews
We shot and killed the people in the car with ease
Eight fools dead, a baby too
We killed eight grown men and a baby in the car
You ask me how I'm livin?, this hit?s for you
This hit was for survival
But that's not all we got the prize
We also killed a mother in her kitchen
A mother in a kitchen, now yo, she's dead inside
We killed a mother in her kitchen
Yeah, we took them suckers out
We successfully completed the hit
They know what time it is now
Our targets know the consequences of crossing us
Scene II, me and Too Big at the club
The second scene takes place in a club with Too Big and I
Too Big and the Hammer kickin? it at the club
Too Big and I are hanging out at the club
Boastin? about the way that we pulled those sucker?s plugs
We are bragging about the hit we pulled earlier
We weren't worried, naw, we didn't care
We were not concerned about the consequences of our actions
When you're in this war, yo, all is fair
In this world of crime, anything is acceptable
A tap on my shoulder, I turn around
Someone tapped me on my shoulder from behind
Too Big is dyin? fast, he's on the ground
Too Big is dying quickly, lying on the ground
I reach for my gat, it was too late
I tried to grab my gun, but it was too late
The knives went pointblank range in my face
The attackers stabbed me at close range in my face
Yo, they opened fire and took me out
They started shooting at me and killed me
Somebody tell my mother, I love her, man
My last wish is for someone to convey my love to my mother
Scene III, the pimpin? game
The third scene centers around pimping
Now I'm pimpin? these berries, got to get that money
Now I'm making money by pimping out women
Those suckers still payin? for a little bit of honey
Men are still paying for sex with women
Nothin? in this world can stop my flow
No one can stop me from making money from prostitution
AIDS ain't done nothin? but help my business grow
AIDS has actually helped my business by increasing demand for young, healthy girls
My babes are trained to make that dollar
My girls are trained to make as much money as possible
To take you out, fool, it ain't no bother
The girls have no problem taking out clients who try to shortchange them
You dropped your pants and you pay the price
Men who want sex with my girls have to pay whatever price is asked and run the risk of getting AIDS
Your money maybe AIDS, fool, and then your life
If you don't pay the price, you risk getting AIDS and your life
Yeah, that's right ?cause a pimp got to make it
I have to make my money as a pimp
we're talkin? about crime stories
The story is about crimes
And I ain't givin? up no propers, no glory
I'm not praising or glorifying these crimes
Crime Stories, all the real brothers have been locked up
The real criminals have been arrested and locked up
And you know they don't wanna go back, no glory
They don't want to go back to prison and don't deserve any glory
Scene IV, the pimp got took out by Barry's brother
The fourth scene is about the pimp getting killed by Barry's brother
We got this tip on some new fresh bait
We received information about new girls to pimp out
Money in their heads and they could hardly wait
The men were eagerly awaiting to sleep with the girls and pay money
My girls went to their room to make the play
The girls went to the men's room to have sex
Two suckers at once, yeah, would make my day
If two men slept with the girls, I would make more money
Now I'm outside some suckers walk up
I am approached by some men outside the room
Talkin? real hard about smokin? my butt
The men start threatening me
He pushed the button, the blade came out
One of the men pulled out a knife
Cut me on my throat and then a bullet in my mouth
They killed me by cutting my throat and shooting a bullet in my mouth
I guess the devil got all the babes in hell
I feel like I am going to hell because of my actions
Maybe he?ll let me work with him? Ssh
Maybe the devil will let me work with him
I'm tellin? ya, man, you get no glory
I'm telling you right now, no one gets glory from crime stories
?Cause I'm not gonna mislead my young brothers
I won't mislead my young viewers with false impressions of crime
Crime stories, if you've ever been locked up
If you have ever been imprisoned for a crime
You know the true stories, no glory
You know that there is no glory in crime
And I'd like to say this before we get outta here
I want to say this before the song ends
To my brothers in the game, my brothers
To all the criminals out there
Who are out there doin? what they feel they've got to do
Those who feel they have no choice but to commit crimes
I wanna ask you one favor, let's let the young kids 10, 11, 12 years old
I want to ask a favor for the sake of the young kids
Let's let them go on and do their thing at the schoolhouse
Let's not involve kids in criminal activities
let's give them a chance to make it
Let's give kids a chance to succeed in life
Let's give them a chance at a different life
Let's give young kids an opportunity for a better life
You doin? what you feel you have to do
You are doing what you feel is necessary
But they youngsters and they don't know any better
The kids are young and don't understand the consequences of crime
So we want to give them a chance to live
We want to give kids a chance to have a good life
I mean life is precious, and you know that yourself
Life is valuable and should be protected
And you try to make a better life for yourself
You should try to improve your own life and not ruin others'
So what I'm sayin? this from the bottom of my heart, let the kids be
What I'm saying comes from my heart; let the kids live their lives
Help the children lead to another way
Help children find a better path in life
And peace from you and I love you and I'm outta here
Goodbye with love and peace between us
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: STANLEY KIRK BURRELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind