Biography
The musician, the author of the world hits U Ca't Touch This Mc Hammer (EM SI Hammer) is considered the founder of modern mainstream-rap. He stood at the origins of this genre and passed a difficult path from the grand success in his youth to oblivion and financial collapse in mature years, but the failures did not break the singer - he took all the blows of fate and from the union rapper, torn by money and bathing in glory, turned into a Christian preacher.Childhood and youth
Real name of the musician - walls Kirk Berell. He was born on March 30, 1962 Cities in Auckland, California, in a believer family. Parents consisted in the Pentecostal Church and regularly took the Son with themselves for worship.
Hammer's nickname - "Hammer" - he was given comrades on the baseball team in honor of the player Khanka Arona, on which he was very similar outwardly. Young Stanley very much wanted to play the field, but the team was already staffed, and he got only a place among the technical staff - the boy watched the state of the bit and other sports inventory.
Music
Walls deeply imbued faithful parents and the first musical group decided to establish precisely to convey the gospel truths to street youth. The team took the name The Holy Ghost Boys, which means "Holy Spirit's Guys", and began to perform the compositions in the style of R'n'B. Together, young people recorded the song Son Of The King, later thanked hit.
Despite the well-coordinated work in the group, MC Hammer soon began to dream of a solo career. In 1987, he broke out like-minded to record the album Feel My Power. The plate was published by Felton Pilate Producing a circulation of 60 thousand copies, for which the wall had to borrow $ 20 thousand from friends, the musician was selling records on his own, spreading among acquaintances, offering at concerts or even on the street from his car.
After the debut, the young rapper attracted the attention of producers. They appreciated the quality of songs and his energetic, incendiary speeches in the public, and already in 1988, the Contractor offered Capitol Records. Together with this label, MC Hammer reprinted the first album, changing his name on Let's Get It Started, and the plate was separated by a circulation of 3 million copies.
In 1990, the Rapper became the owner of a diamond disk - a symbol that the number of its album sold reached 10 million. Colleagues on a musical workshop reacted disapprovingly and even ridiculed it - in those years rap culture, many considered "low" outdoor genre.
The first loud success was the beginning of a grand career. After 2 years, MC Hammer has released a new job of Please Hammer Don't Hurt EM, which has become the best album in the history of rap. Songs from him headed by Chart Billboard and brought the musician 3 Grammy Prize. Later, the singer also became the owner of 2 MTY awards and 7 premiums from the US Music Association.
It was in this album. For the first time, his main hits appeared - U Can't Touch This and Pray, which to this day can be heard on radio and TV both in the original performance and in the form of numerous remixes (for example, in 2018 the composition U Can 'T Touch This entered the execution of Sultan and Neparda).
All tickets to Rapper concerts were bought out, barely enrolled on sale, the halls were clogged to the public before the refusal. In 1995, the musician made his debut as an actor, playing in the movie One Tough Bastard in the role of a drug dealer, and later played 4 more such characters in other pictures.
In the youth of the walls promised to devote his work to God. Nevertheless, over time, his departure from religion and church became apparent. Mc Hammer began to earn a lot of money, and in his life it came not only luxury, but also vices - passion for drugs, alcohol.
His next album Too Legit To Quit sold out in the amount of 3 million copies. The figure seems to be rather big, but with the previous success, it was an obvious decline. In 1992, a musician got into litigation with Kevin Christian on copyright issues, which eventually led to a change of recording company. He threw the letter MC from the stage name and decided to experiment.
In the next disk Funky Headhunter, the musician style has become harder and tougher. The video for the song Pumps and a Bump was removed from the rotation of MTV, having considered obscene, and the scandal did not benefit the hammer. Later, his discography was replenished with a plate Inside Out, and the singer overtook a full failure - she was bought so little that the label ripped the contract with the rapper.
The financial affairs of the musician began to deteriorate rapidly. Over the years of popularity, Hammer got used to a luxurious life and all this time I spent moneyless money - he had 17 cars, a luxurious house and 2 helicopters, and now the singer was before the need to pay giant debts.
In April 1996, he acknowledged himself with bankrupt, the media led information about how many lenders he should - the amount exceeded $ 13 million.
Rapper did not leave the scene and found the label, consonant with him to cooperate. Death Row Records released his next disk, but the victory was not returned to him. In just a year later, he returned to EMI, where he published a collection of hits, but could not correct things.
Personal life
The musician is married, with his wife Stephanie Fuller they grow five children. In 1996, his wife fell ill with cancer. It became a heavy blow to Hammer, who was not so worried about the best times in creativity and tried to escape from the financial collapse.The wife's illness pushed him to rethinking life. He remembered religious dogmas, grafted in childhood, and decided: all his troubles from what he forgot about God. This was the beginning of a steep turn in his biography - the subsequent years were the spiritual revival of the musician.
From Rapper, he became a preacher and announced that now the letters of MC in his name (popular among rappers prefix, meaning Master of Ceremonies - the owner of parties, lead) should be understood as MAN of Christ - the man of Christ. From music, he did not refuse - she became a tool of his new work.
"People can see me on MTV, and then, perhaps, on Sunday evening for sermons," the musician explained in an interview. "I am a celebrity, but, on the other hand, responsible for carrying the salvation of God."Soon Stefani managed to defeat cancer, and in the new song He Brought Me Out Hummer expressed his overflowing delight from her healing. The new album Family Affair managed to sell only in the amount of 500 thousand copies, but it was no longer so worried singer.
He began to organize weekly meetings with young people in the Californian Christian Center and released his book Enemyes of the Father, and also publicly made a criticism of the Musicians of Eminem and Basta Rights, accusing them in confusion.
Mc Hammer now
The musician continues to engage in a loved one, but it rarely appears in the public. The last on today is a large-scale "exit to the light" it became its appearance at the 40th American Music Awards ceremony. He is quite well safe in his personal life and together with his family lives on a ranch in California.
Now the former world star rap lives modestly, brings up children and worries in the local church. It leads accounts in social networks, including in "Instagram", but he has not so much subscribers. The photo and an interview with Hammer rarely appear in the media, and mostly are not musical, but religious portals and publications.
Discography
- 1987 - FEEL MY POWER
- 1988 - Let's Get It Started
- 1990 - Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em
- 1991 - Too Legit To Quit
- 1994 - THE FUNKY HEADHUNTER
- 1995 - Inside Out
- 1996 - Too Tight
- 1998 - Family Affair
- 2001 - Active Duty
- 2003 - Full Blast
- 2006 - Look Look Look
- 2008 - Platinum