Does anybody remember back in the day when Hammer said that Michael Jackson disrespected James Brown back in 1991? This was around the time that Hammer's '2 Legit 2 Quit' and Michael Jackson's 'Dangerous' came out. Was this just another publicity stunt for record sales? What actually happened?

Never heard of this.

I remember,around this time,Hammer was going around challenging MJ to a "dance-off".He felt that he was a better dancer than Michael

I think 'Thesexofit' will probably agree
[Edited 5/12/05 6:22am]

Yeah this is true. But it was just a stunt. James Brown is the king is Hammers "too legit too quit" video. James makes Hammer, his decendant to the throne as it were, to get "the glove" from that "joker". Hammer even says in the video it is time James got the respect and props he deserved.

This is not made up This actually happens in the (ful lenth) video.

Jackson never said anything bad about JB. But JB seemed to actually like hammer. Can't blame him, can u?

Hammer was the james brown of rap.

Everybody feels they need to eclipse Mike. PLeaze.....even eminem wants to be big as mike.

Hammer shoulda left it alone....no way could he fuck with mike.

lilgish said:

Hammer woulda beaten him in a dance off in 1991 no doubt about it. Jacko would pull the same tired moves, unless he actually would of gotten some new dance steps (which would of been unlikely).

I dunno what Hammer thought of as disrespect, but for a while Mike was acting like Gene Kelly and his pal Astaire were his only inspirations. For awhile he wasn't giving props to James. Though he was still giving props to Sammy Davis.

I dunno, Mike never disrepected James. In the 80's Lil Richard wanted everyone to know that Mike and P were just copying him, maybe James felt the same way.

lilgish said:

Yeah i hear that. Not until recently has Jacko ever really given props to JB. Ha Little richard. I remember that "in living color" sketch. Where he says everyone stole verything off him. I like lil' richard though. He's cool.

Mike stright out COPIED him in those J5 days.

thesexofit said:

what are u talkin bout. Mike can freestyle, don’t confuse his routines with his acumen .I've never seen Hammer do the amount of moves Mike can do. Ever see Hammer Pop, lock, or break????? Again, why would mike bother with some one who would be irrelevant in a few years. I like Hammer, and he's a great dancer, but mike is better.

lilgish said:

Back then ? Hammer can pop and shit. He (like mike) learned from JB. Mike then got graceful ala fred astaire, whilst hammer keptit street. Mike aint street at all. Not that this is a bad thing. But I bet Mike woulda pulled out that same now lame "billy jean" routine. It is so old now and woulda been in 1991. I know MJ can freestyle (unlike sister janet) but hammer can work an audience like no bodies business.

thesexofit said:

what!!!!! Mike is street!!!!!

How many street dancers are copying Hammer....look how many copy mike.

let's end this now with a dance off.

lilgish said:

I can honestly see hammer moves too in usher etc.....I know its hard to beleive but I have seen many a hammer video. I know choreographers must still look at some of those videos.

I agree that loads do look at mike for inspiration though, no doubt.

And hammer definately looked at Mike in showsmanship terms. As did Bobby brown. Those 2 were the pretenders to the throne back then, as Usher and justin are now (well sorta)


Anyway, hammer woulda beaten jacko. Hammer was huge back then. Anyother time then jakco woulda one. But kids fucking loved hammer.

thesexofit said:

How old are u? I was a die-hard hammer fan. c'mon man I got abused for liking the funky headhunter in high school.


I had the Let's get started album, I love the addams family joint to.

Hammer was big for a hot second, Mike is a icon, He can't touch miike

lilgish said:

It sounds insane now, but on my block in downtown chicago kids loved hammer. We'd be dancing in the streets to his shit.

anyway, hammer is an awesome stage perfomer. He really is. Mike is too, but hammer can really work crowd.

thesexofit said:

Listen I love Hammer. I would love to see him make a come back. I would love to see dancing in hip-hop again.

thesexofit said:

I thought you were british?


P.S Liz Hurley is fucking hot, get a clue.
[Edited 5/12/05 8:34am]

lilgish said:

As James Brown says to hammer "u gotta be too legit to quit.bring back the glove!"

"proper". Ha hammer used to be on pepsi.

I don't know how the dacne off woulda worked, but both have incredible energt. Alot more then most people deem to care. Usher has half the energy of those 2. But then hammer was always very energetic. Thats whats missing in choreography these days. Energy and class. Infact, if u combined mj's moves, with hammers moves, u'd create a monster.

The people who ay ciara's "one two step" is good dacing needs a hammer check up. dancing may date, but if u just steal loves and mix it all up, u crate something new. Both hammer and MJ did this.

I think newjack dancing, mixed with paula, mixed with backstreet boys, and then some usher, would be a good bet these days. Not spastic moves ciara does/

lilgish said:

Iam american. I lived in chicago 'till 9 years old (when music started to become crap (1994).) Thats why I got so much USA music. I listened to shit like steive b, george lamond, hammer, (latino neighbourhood got me into george lamond)

I moved to england. I have no accent. And i consider myself english really. No one knows iam american unless they ask where I was born.

after hammer's challenge his career took a sorry nose-dive!

raveon2tnek said:

Grundge and gangster hiphop (ie dr dre) took charge of hammer, gerardo, ice and marky mark. It was over for them guys. Survival would be fucking hard after 1992. Hammer survived with the "the funky headhunter". But after that and "sultry funk", it was over.


Imagine milli vanilli making it in 1994? It would be umpossible. Pop got lost in USA until britney spears really. Thats why people loved her. It was so refreshing.

thesexofit said:

that excuse is kind of lame man,i think any artiste worth a record should know how to re-invent himself for the record buying public.if u have got the balls to challenge a god like mj, u betta damn well posess musical longevity!

thesexofit said:

Not to burst your bubble but the Spice Girls and The Backstreet boys brought back pop music to the USA a couple years before Britney hit. Sad that I know that.....

MC hammer suxx...

Oops I said it...

Mc Hammer is a very good impersonator of JB and a very bad rapper...

Ok , I have to admit that in the 1990/1991 era I thought that HAmmer was a better dancer than Mike but today, when I watch his videos, I truly think that Mike would kill him in a battle...

MJ can dance like James Brown, or like Fred Astair and he has some very good breakground moves...

Something that I like about Mike is that his style is very SMOOTH... This why Mike seems to be very natural when he dances.....

See The way you make me feel video to understand....
[Edited 5/12/05 12:42pm]

hammer was a horrible dancer..

im sorry...he moved way WAY to fast....it was like he knew he would look funny if he let the movement flow so he sped it up in hopes it would look mesmorizing or something...

instead he ended up lookin like a blender. expecially with those horrid pants on...

no contest thesexofit...when you have great dancers of the past acknoweldging mj's talent, and your contributions to the world have been totally forgotten..

well, its not even a contest.

thesexofit said:

I kinda agree with U there!

I think we're missing the point here. At the time the challenge was issued Hammer was hot and MJ had been stuck doing the same stiff choreography he had been doing since Thriller. At that point in time Hammer would have won a dance-off. Whatever talent MJ had as a kid and young man had not been nurtured and he was just a shadow of himself.

MJ lost all credibility when he got on stage at some awards show (NAACP or something like that) and lip-synched his way through a song while "dancing" in a chair. At that point I knew it was over. It was bad enough that he didn't look at all like his former self, but he didn't even have the ability to perform that he once had.

Looking back on it it's easy to say MJ would've won because his career dwarfs Hammer's but I remember thinking at that time that it wouldn't have been close (and I had already begun to think of Hammer as a sellout by that time).

whodknee said:

Jacko has a tendancy to repaet himself so many times on tv performances it becomes dull. Like the american music awards 1993. He did a stunning perfomance of "dangerous", then at MTV awards in 1995, he did the same routine to "dangerous". Shame.

hammer is more versitile then u think people. Its just the fact u didn't see the videos to "this is the way we roll" "count it off" "good to go".

thesexofit said:

I saw it!!!!!

Hammer shoulda challenged someone like bobby B. Mike was just too big for hammer.

What hammer's best live performance?