will.i.am and MC Hammer have a lot in common. They’ve both sold millions of albums and wracked up billions of streams combined, sure, but they’ve also pushed — and continue to push — the boundaries of music, technology, and popular culture at large into bold new directions.
In the latest episode of Uproxx‘s series Visionaires Moments, will.i.am gives his flowers to the man known across the globe as simply Hammer.
“He gave us the path to cartoons, movies, MTV Music Awards, Grammys,” will.i.am said about the “U Can’t Touch This” and “2 Legit 2 Quit” rapper. “He’s the first freaking hip-hop global Michael Jackson phenomenon. You get no bigger than Hammer.”
Back in the day, a young MC Hammer worked for the Oakland Athletic’s baseball team and would perform at clubs while on the road with the team. He later shared what he learned from being around baseball scouts with will.i.am.
“He’s like, ‘I scout all the IT colleges. I go to Georgia Tech, Caltech.’ I’m like, ‘Wait, what?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, that’s where you find the talent. Then I bring that talent up here to the Bay. That’s why I’m MC Hammer up here.’ I’m like, ‘This dude done crack the code,’” will.i.am shared. “So, this concept of MC Hammer’s broke. Nah, n*gga, y’all caught up in the wrong hoopla. MC Hammer, and you will be rewarded. That dude.”
You can watch Visionaires Moments with will.i.am on MC Hammer in the video above.
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