U Can't Touch This
| "U Can't Touch This" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by MC Hammer | ||||
| from the album Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em | ||||
| B-side | "Dancin' Machine" | |||
| Released | 13 January 1990 | |||
| Format | CD single 12" vinyl Cassette |
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| Recorded | 1989 | |||
| Genre | Hip Hop, Dance | |||
| Length | 4:17 | |||
| Label | Capitol (US) | |||
| Writer(s) | Stanley Burrell Rick James Alonzo Miller |
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| Producer | M.C. Hammer | |||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA, CRIA) | |||
| MC Hammer singles chronology | ||||
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"U Can't Touch This" heavily samples Rick James's "Super Freak".
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| Problems listening to this file? See media help. | |
"U Can't Touch This" is MC Hammer's 1990 super hit signature song, from his album Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em. The album sold more than 10 million copies,[1] due primarily to this single, and gaining multi-platinum certifications from the RIAA, and other Recording Industries.
Rick James sued Hammer for infringement of copyright, as the song basically consists of the prominent opening riff of "Super Freak", which is constantly repeated throughout. The suit was settled out of court when Hammer agreed to credit James as co-composer, effectively cutting James in on the millions of dollars the record was earning. James was accordingly credited as a co-author.
The song received its debut live performance on a late 1989 episode of The Arsenio Hall Show.[2] The lyrics describe the rapper as having "toured around the world, from London to the Bay" and as being "magic on the mic", which Hammer says combines with Rick James' "beat that you can't touch". It secured the Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song and Best Rap Solo Performance in 1991, a brand new category at the time. The song was a huge success chart wise: it reached #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3] The single was also a big success in other parts of the world, peaking at #1 in Australia, the Netherlands and Sweden, and #3 on the UK singles chart.[4]
A 1990 compilation album of then-current chart hits was released in Australia by EMI under this title, which also featured the song as the first track. The German translation Halt! Hammerzeit is a known internet meme.[5] "Weird Al" Yankovic's parody of the song, "I Can't Watch This", overlaid lyrics about bad TV-watching over the song's music track.
The song's lyrics and catchphrases became common pop culture references, making sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle appearances on TV, movies, and pop culture generally. "You can't touch this" and "Stop... Hammer time!" in particular, were widely used. Hammertime, from a lyric in the song, became the title of a reality show, featuring M.C. Hammer, on the A&E Network in the summer of 2009.[6]
During 2008, the song ranked as number 26 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop and number 16 on their list of 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s.[7]
Most recently, in 2010, the song ranked as #6 on AOL Radio's list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, with Matthew Wilkening telling the late Rick James in spirit: "If someone did this to your wonderful work of music, you might choose crack, too."[8]
Contents |
[edit] Music Video
A music video was produced to promote the single.[9]
[edit] Chart performance
[edit] Peak positions
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[3] | 8 |
| US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play[3] | 6 |
| US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[3] | 2 |
| US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks[3] | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot Rap Singles[3] | 2 |
| Australian Singles Chart[10] | 1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart[11] | 5 |
| Canadian RPM Singles Chart[12] | 8 |
| Dutch GfK chart[13] | 1 |
| Dutch Top 40[14] | 1 |
| French Singles Chart[15] | 17 |
| Germany (Media Control AG)[16] | 2 |
| Irish Singles Chart[17] | 3 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart[18] | 6 |
| Swedish Singles Chart[19] | 1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[20] | 2 |
| UK Singles Chart[4] | 3 |
[edit] End of year charts
| End of year chart (1990) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia[21] | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[22] | 55 |
[edit] Media and pop culture uses
The song, or derivatives thereof, have been used in many movies, shows [1] and video games, including: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990), Hot Shots! (1990), The Super (1991), Doogie Howser, M.D. (1992), Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Sione's Wedding (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Tropic Thunder (2008), Dancing with the Stars (2009), the 2009 video game Just Dance.
Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song, in their own signature style, for their 1991 album The Chipmunks Rock the House.
In The Simpsons episode "Bart Gets Famous", Bart records an "I Didn't Do It" rap with the backing track of the song.
In South Park episode "Simpsons Already Did It", 'Hammer time!' is used as code word by Tweek to alert the others.
A cover of the song was featured in the May 4, 2010 episode of the TV series Glee, as well as in the fourth episode of the reality show The Glee Project.
A parody of the song titled "Can't Touch Me" was sung by Peter Griffin in the Family Guy episode "E. Peterbus Unum".
In November 2011, a special feature appears at the end of the 2011 film "Shrek: Me and My Swamp" called "I Can't Watch This with Shrek" from "Weird Al" Yankovic. Lyrics about watching a bad TV program were overlaid on the song's music track.
The song is featured in a South African commercial for Castle Light Beer.
The song was referred to in the The Fairly OddParents episode "Chindred Spirits" when Cosmo says "Hammer Time!", a hammer appears and conks his head after he dances in parachute pants briefly.
The song is sampled on rapper Big Sean's song, "Dance (A$$)" from his debut album, Finally Famous: The Album.
The song was parodied as "I Can't Watch This" by "Weird Al" Yankovic.
In the Blizzard game World of Warcraft, the males of the Orc race dance in the same manner as MC Hammer in the 'U Can't Touch This' video. Also in their real-time strategy game Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos, a created Gryphon Rider shouts out, "It's hammer time!" Also, in Bastion of Twilight boss named Cho'Gall says "Stop! Hammer time!".
In "Barney in Concert", the Baby Bop Street Dance is similar to this song.
The song has been referred on line "Like a hammer before me you can't touch this" on the song, "Trapped on the Dance Floor" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince from the 1991 album, Homebase.
This song has also been featured in the Disney Channel Series So Random!
The champion Malzahar from the Action RTS game League of Legends also dances in the same manner as MC Hammer in the 'U Can't Touch This' video when you use his /dance command.
[edit] See also
- Jingle Bells/U Can't Touch This - Crazy Frog cover
[edit] References
- ^ "allmusic ((( Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em > Review )))". http://www.allmusic.com/album/r27923/review. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
- ^ MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This (Live @ Arsenio Hall). Metacafe.
- ^ a b c d e f "allmusic ((( MC Hammer > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p46/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
- ^ a b "Chart Stats — MC Hammer — U Can't Touch This". http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=17706. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
- ^ Urban Dictionary: Halt! Hammerzeit!
- ^ http://www.aetv.com/hammertime/
- ^ 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s
- ^ Wilkening, Matthew (September 11, 2010). "100 Worst Songs Ever -- Part Five of Five". AOL Radio. http://www.aolradioblog.com/2010/09/11/100-worst-songs-ever-part-five-of-five/. Retrieved December 25, 2010.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otCpCn0l4Wo
- ^ "australian-charts.com — MC Hammer — U Can't Touch This". http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=MC+Hammer&titel=U+Can%27t+Touch+This&cat=s. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
- ^ "MC Hammer — U Can't Touch This — austriancharts.at (German)". http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=MC+Hammer&titel=U+Can%27t+Touch+This&cat=s. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
- ^ "Top Singles - Volume 52, No. 9, July 14, 1990". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.1272&volume=52&issue=9&issue_dt=July%2014%201990&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mvd3le5ecktjsfm8c2odk6sps0. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl — MC Hammer — U Can't Touch This (Dutch)". http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=MC+Hammer&titel=U+Can%27t+Touch+This&cat=s. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 - Week 31, 1990 (Dutch)". http://www.top40.nl/index.aspx?week=31&jaar=1990&maand=8. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
- ^ "lescharts.com — MC Hammer — U Can't Touch This (French)". http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=MC+Hammer&titel=U+Can%27t+Touch+This&cat=s. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
- ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
- ^ "irishcharts.ie search results". http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com — MC Hammer — U Can't Touch This". http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=MC+Hammer&titel=U+Can%27t+Touch+This&cat=s. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com — MC Hammer — U Can't Touch This". http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=MC+Hammer&titel=U+Can%27t+Touch+This&cat=s. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
- ^ "MC Hammer — U Can't Touch This — hitparade.ch (German)". http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=MC+Hammer&titel=U+Can%27t+Touch+This&cat=s. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
- ^ http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-50-singles-1990.htm
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1990". http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1990. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
[edit] External links
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- 1990 singles
- MC Hammer songs
- Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one singles
- European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
- Number-one singles in Australia
- Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
- Number-one singles in New Zealand
- Number-one singles in Sweden
- Funk-rap songs
- Singles certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
- Songs written by Rick James
- Songs written by MC Hammer
