Even at the height of fame, Stanley Kirk Burrell did not forget to Hammer out love between his brothers and his sisters…
It therefore came as no surprise when his MC morphed from Master of Ceremonies into Minister of Christ.
Burrell was born in Oakland, California, and first began performing in the parking lot of the Oakland Coliseum. At age 11,
he was “discovered” by the Oakland A’s team owner Charles Oscar Finley, then hired by him to be a batboy and clubhouse assistant. For a while,
Burrell dreamed of being a professional ball player, but wasn’t quite good enough at it. After
graduating high school and studying some at a local college, Burrell joined the Navy. He served
for three years and was honorably discharged.
By the mid-80s, Burrell (now calling himself MC Hammer) was seriously trying to make it as a rapper. Wikipedia
reports that he had formed a Christian rap music group called the Holy Ghost Boys. After
borrowing money from two former Oakland A players, Hammer was able to start his own record-label business. Due to a campaign of “tireless street marketing,” his debut album, Feel My
Power, “sold over
60,000 copies.” He
later signed with Capitol Records – to the tune of a US $1,750,000 advance.
At the height of his financial success, Hammer had amassed a fortune of approximately US$33 million. This he
spent quite freely – buying a mansion for $12 million, and employing about 200 people “with an annual payroll of US$6.8 million.” During an Oprah Winfrey interview in February 2011, MC Hammer explained “how employing/helping so many people in the past never really caused him to be broke in terms of the average person, as the media made it seem, nor would he have changed any experiences that have led him to where he is today.”
Today MC Hammer is not only an ordained minister - but also a dedicated husband (to his wife of 26 years whom he originally met at a church revival meeting) and father (to his five children), as well as a “tech media-mogul.” That’s a lot to celebrate on this – his 50th birthday.
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MC_Hammer
http://www.christianity.ca/netcommunity/page.aspx?pid=3156
http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Whatever-Happened-to-MC-Hammer/print/1
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