Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em

Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em
Studio album by
MC Hammer
ReleasedFebruary 12, 1990 (1990-02-12)
Recorded1988–1989
GenreHip hop
Length59:04
Label
Producer
MC Hammer chronology
Let's Get It Started
(1988) 		Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em
(1990) 		Too Legit to Quit
(1991)
Singles from Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em
  1. "Help the Children"
    Released: January 10, 1990
  2. "Dancin' Machine"
    Released: February 1990
  3. "U Can't Touch This"
    Released: April 1990
  4. "Have You Seen Her"
    Released: June 1990
  5. "Pray"
    Released: August 21, 1990
  6. "Here Comes the Hammer"
    Released: December 1990

Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em is the third studio album by American rapper MC Hammer, released on February 12, 1990[1] by Capitol Records and EMI Records. Produced, recorded and mixed by Felton Pilate and James Earley, the album was made on a small budget of around $10,000 and recorded on a modified tour bus between May 1988 and November 1989.

Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em received lukewarm reviews from critics, yet received five nominations at the 1991 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, becoming the first hip hop record to be nominated in this category, as well as winning five awards at the 1991 American Music Awards. The album is considered Hammer's mainstream breakthrough and a commercial juggernaut. It peaked at number one for twenty-one weeks on the US Billboard 200, becoming the first rap recording to top the pop chart, and was the best-selling album of 1990. It was the first hip hop album to be certified diamond in the US,[2][3] was certified platinum in several countries, and was one of the best-selling hip hop albums worldwide, selling more than 18 million units to date.[4][5][6][7]

Six official singles were released to promote the album, including the smash hit "U Can't Touch This" which reached the top 10 at the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number one in Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden, and number 3 on the UK Singles Chart. Following the album's success, Hammer embarked on the Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em World Tour, which stretched from 1990 to 1991 with 144 dates, grossing over $32 million.[8]

  1. ^ "MSN Music entry for Please Hammer Don't Hurt Em". Archived from the original on 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
  2. ^ "article". community.allhiphop.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-01.
  3. ^ Holden, Stephen (1990-12-26). "The Pop Life (Published 1990)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference AllMusic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY (2001-06-24). "Rap's Teen Idols Return". Time. Archived from the original on August 30, 2010. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  6. ^ Cassidy, John. "The Talk of the Town: Under the Hammer". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  7. ^ "MC Hammer Biography". sing365.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-15.
  8. ^ "Billboard" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. 1991-11-09. Retrieved March 25, 2022.