|
|
Post by ganews on Apr 1, 2022 9:28:32 GMT -5
Happy April Fools Day! The winner for this month is Hammer, "Too Legit to Quit" chosen by Nudeviking .
As the nominator of the very first April Fools Record Club winner, Len's "After the Bum Rush", it is only fitting that NV come here and tells us why he actually likes this other relic from the 90s.
Now put on your suspenders and harem pants, and tell Nudeviking what you really think.
|
|
|
|
Post by ganews on Apr 4, 2022 16:52:03 GMT -5
What, 70 minutes long?? Nudeviking this better be worth it.
"This Is the Way We Roll" - Takes me back to when I was reviewing Prince and Michael Jackson albums from the period. Nobody uses horns in their hip-hop anymore, and that is just as well. "Five years of hippin and hoppin" is a lyric in the very first track. Then for the rest of the decade having a character say "hippity hop music" was easy shorthand for demonstrating that someone was old and out of touch. God just halfway through the first track I am wondering how padded this is going to be.
"Brothers Hang On" - I guess this is Hammer's social consciousness album. That's pretty developed, he even throws out a reference to the crab bucket. This music is not exactly holding me though, with raps barely above the tempo of speech and ample Mario Paint denshipiano sound. Hammer sure does like to roll his Rs.
"2 Legit 2 Quit" - I still remember the 2-L-2-throatslash finger sign. This has more tempo of course, but once again half this production could have been done on Mario Paint. Pretty tired of Hammer repeating his own words on every single track, at least Run-DMC had two guys to do the work. Anyway, this is combination of fun music and social message that must have earned Hammer the Saturday morning cartoon that I vaguely remember where he had magic shoes. This is another 5-minute track that could have ended in 3.
"Living in a World Like This" - More, often slower raps about being desperate in the hood.
"Tell Me (Why Can't We Live Together)" - As in can't-we-just-get-along, not like Prince's "Let's Pretend We're Married". Racism is bad. Woodwinds are noodley. You know, on other tracks Hammer talks about some bad stuff that ought to make you mad; this just sounds mournful and meandering. But getting mad was not part of the brand.
"Releasing Some Pressure" - More like releasing a party song that hopefully people won't skip. It's still pretty repetitive, and even three minutes of the typical five would have been too much. Call and response at the end.
"Find Yourself a Friend"- Another party song. Hammer's own raps seem to be kind of low in the mix, with long spaces between his verses. This makes the song pretty tolerable, or perhaps just easy to ignore. Even so I am consistently checking these songs to see when they will be over, and this always happens at the 3 minute mark.
I'll finish the rest later. I guess.
|
|
|
|
Post by ganews on Apr 5, 2022 18:44:33 GMT -5
What, 70 minutes long?? Nudeviking this better be worth it.
"This Is the Way We Roll" - Takes me back to when I was reviewing Prince and Michael Jackson albums from the period. Nobody uses horns in their hip-hop anymore, and that is just as well. "Five years of hippin and hoppin" is a lyric in the very first track. Then for the rest of the decade having a character say "hippity hop music" was easy shorthand for demonstrating that someone was old and out of touch. God just halfway through the first track I am wondering how padded this is going to be.
"Brothers Hang On" - I guess this is Hammer's social consciousness album. That's pretty developed, he even throws out a reference to the crab bucket. This music is not exactly holding me though, with raps barely above the tempo of speech and ample Mario Paint denshipiano sound. Hammer sure does like to roll his Rs.
"2 Legit 2 Quit" - I still remember the 2-L-2-throatslash finger sign. This has more tempo of course, but once again half this production could have been done on Mario Paint. Pretty tired of Hammer repeating his own words on every single track, at least Run-DMC had two guys to do the work. Anyway, this is combination of fun music and social message that must have earned Hammer the Saturday morning cartoon that I vaguely remember where he had magic shoes. This is another 5-minute track that could have ended in 3.
"Living in a World Like This" - More, often slower raps about being desperate in the hood.
"Tell Me (Why Can't We Live Together)" - As in can't-we-just-get-along, not like Prince's "Let's Pretend We're Married". Racism is bad. Woodwinds are noodley. You know, on other tracks Hammer talks about some bad stuff that ought to make you mad; this just sounds mournful and meandering. But getting mad was not part of the brand.
"Releasing Some Pressure" - More like releasing a party song that hopefully people won't skip. It's still pretty repetitive, and even three minutes of the typical five would have been too much. Call and response at the end.
"Find Yourself a Friend"- Another party song. Hammer's own raps seem to be kind of low in the mix, with long spaces between his verses. This makes the song pretty tolerable, or perhaps just easy to ignore. Even so I am consistently checking these songs to see when they will be over, and this always happens at the 3 minute mark.
I'll finish the rest later. I guess.
"Count It Off" - Not bad. Homeboy shout chorus, Casio beat, just an incredible amount of rolled Rs. Except it's not just Rs, there's also sort of a rolled th, including in the title check. Sort of like "count itttrrrr off". Another lyric about "hippin and hoppin". I like the horns okay.
"Good to Go" - All the playlists on Youtube are garbage, so I have to find these tracks individually, which means I actually watched the video about classy suits and such. The back-up dancer with the famously giant pompadour has a special white hat to cover the whole thing. Hammer kisses a model a bit, but everything is extraordinarily tame (he did become a preacher after all). This is pretty generic, except for its jazzy flute. It occurs to me that we haven't had any social commentary for five tracks.
"Lovehold" - That said, this track immediately jumps into Hammer-as-Prince. Mention of a lollipop, so naughty! Pretty boring though, and way too much talking over the backing soul singers. What, no chime waterfall?
"Street Soldiers" - I thought we were gonna get a rabble-rouser, but this is the slowest tempo yet on the album. Social commentary track, stop the violence folks.
"Do Not Pass Me By" - It's a gospel hymn folks. Also Hammer is here to rap about G-O-D and roll every letter in the alphabet. This got a music video, but would those Satanists at MTV even play it?
"Gaining Momentum" - This is actually pretty decent. Party song, nothing hitting you over the head. Lots of hallmarks of the time period in the song and the video. This backing vocalist is quite good too. I hope it's not just a thin black lady lip-synching for the video like C&C Music Factory.
That's it then. Nudeviking, I am going to say I do not see the appeal in a bunch of 5 minute songs with 2 minutes of content. Certainly there were others mixing party songs, social commentary, and gospel influences. The album didn't make me want to doe, but it isn't even as good as most of Prince's throwaway records. |
|
|
|
Post by Nudeviking on Apr 5, 2022 19:17:10 GMT -5
What, 70 minutes long?? Nudeviking this better be worth it.
"This Is the Way We Roll" - Takes me back to when I was reviewing Prince and Michael Jackson albums from the period. Nobody uses horns in their hip-hop anymore, and that is just as well. "Five years of hippin and hoppin" is a lyric in the very first track. Then for the rest of the decade having a character say "hippity hop music" was easy shorthand for demonstrating that someone was old and out of touch. God just halfway through the first track I am wondering how padded this is going to be.
"Brothers Hang On" - I guess this is Hammer's social consciousness album. That's pretty developed, he even throws out a reference to the crab bucket. This music is not exactly holding me though, with raps barely above the tempo of speech and ample Mario Paint denshipiano sound. Hammer sure does like to roll his Rs.
"2 Legit 2 Quit" - I still remember the 2-L-2-throatslash finger sign. This has more tempo of course, but once again half this production could have been done on Mario Paint. Pretty tired of Hammer repeating his own words on every single track, at least Run-DMC had two guys to do the work. Anyway, this is combination of fun music and social message that must have earned Hammer the Saturday morning cartoon that I vaguely remember where he had magic shoes. This is another 5-minute track that could have ended in 3.
"Living in a World Like This" - More, often slower raps about being desperate in the hood.
"Tell Me (Why Can't We Live Together)" - As in can't-we-just-get-along, not like Prince's "Let's Pretend We're Married". Racism is bad. Woodwinds are noodley. You know, on other tracks Hammer talks about some bad stuff that ought to make you mad; this just sounds mournful and meandering. But getting mad was not part of the brand.
"Releasing Some Pressure" - More like releasing a party song that hopefully people won't skip. It's still pretty repetitive, and even three minutes of the typical five would have been too much. Call and response at the end.
"Find Yourself a Friend"- Another party song. Hammer's own raps seem to be kind of low in the mix, with long spaces between his verses. This makes the song pretty tolerable, or perhaps just easy to ignore. Even so I am consistently checking these songs to see when they will be over, and this always happens at the 3 minute mark.
I'll finish the rest later. I guess.
"Count It Off" - Not bad. Homeboy shout chorus, Casio beat, just an incredible amount of rolled Rs. Except it's not just Rs, there's also sort of a rolled th, including in the title check. Sort of like "count itttrrrr off". Another lyric about "hippin and hoppin". I like the horns okay.
"Good to Go" - All the playlists on Youtube are garbage, so I have to find these tracks individually, which means I actually watched the video about classy suits and such. The back-up dancer with the famously giant pompadour has a special white hat to cover the whole thing. Hammer kisses a model a bit, but everything is extraordinarily tame (he did become a preacher after all). This is pretty generic, except for its jazzy flute. It occurs to me that we haven't had any social commentary for five tracks.
"Lovehold" - That said, this track immediately jumps into Hammer-as-Prince. Mention of a lollipop, so naughty! Pretty boring though, and way too much talking over the backing soul singers. What, no chime waterfall?
"Street Soldiers" - I thought we were gonna get a rabble-rouser, but this is the slowest tempo yet on the album. Social commentary track, stop the violence folks.
"Do Not Pass Me By" - It's a gospel hymn folks. Also Hammer is here to rap about G-O-D and roll every letter in the alphabet. This got a music video, but would those Satanists at MTV even play it?
"Gaining Momentum" - This is actually pretty decent. Party song, nothing hitting you over the head. Lots of hallmarks of the time period in the song and the video. This backing vocalist is quite good too. I hope it's not just a thin black lady lip-synching for the video like C&C Music Factory.
That's it then. Nudeviking , I am going to say I do not see the appeal in a bunch of 5 minute songs with 2 minutes of content. Certainly there were others mixing party songs, social commentary, and gospel influences. The album didn't make me want to doe, but it isn't even as good as most of Prince's throwaway records. The lady ( Saja) singing on "Gaining Momentum" (which is probably my favorite jam on the album unless you've got the cassette version which had "Addams Family Groove" as a bonus track) does appear to be fairly slim and conventionally attractive. It's been decades since I've seen the music video for "Gaining Momentum" so I don't know if the thin lady they've got there is the same thin lady that actually sang on the song but it's definitely not a Martha Wash in C + C Music Factory situation. I guess since this won I'm going to have to load it onto my phone and give it a listen and then write some words about it. |
|
|
|
Post by King Charles’s Butterfly on Apr 5, 2022 22:38:44 GMT -5
I have a soft spot for MC Hammer because my earliest TV memories are of Hammerman, although all I remember are enjoying it with my dad, the magical shoes, and the theme. While each track is different from the other, but some aren’t really distinguished from the other, if you know what I mean. I expected this to be a non-stop pop-rap dance album but instead it’s a mix of that with hopeful and uncynical slower-paced songs. I can see why Hammer felt the need to make a children’s TV show with his name—I looked at some episode summaries and it’s clear that it wasn’t (just) a means of expanding his brand, but of spreading his aspirational vision.
Hammer’s much better when pumping a crowd up—his delivery’s energy that makes the early 90s production turn into something more, something vibrant, even if not every song is memorable.
The video for “Too Legit to Quit” is boring (and I don’t think it’s the best track), but it showcases that stylistically more than harem pants. Now, track by track: Happy as Gilligan in “This is the way we roll”? Straining for rhymes in some cases, but pretty good poppy, confident (though it never reaches the charming boastfulness of his harder-edged contemporaries) rap. There’s an inspiring aspect actually, a reflection both of Hammer’s quick rise to the top and maybe his Christian faith too. The exception might be the fatalistic “Brothers hang on,” but even there there’s the title’s hopeful chorus and title, rather than truly inhabiting that world. “Too legit to quit” balances between that almost collegiate cheer and the (movement) fast-paced rap. I can see why it became the lead single—Hammer’s speedy delivery makes you really pumped (not embarrassed), at least at first. The repetitiveness makes things boring after the first 2.30. The music video’s ridiculously long and boring too. “Livin in a world like this” is like “Brothers hang on,” only faster paced but without the former track’s passion. “Tell Me” has an honest, utopian sincerity real punchy beat that saves this socially-conscious hip-hop ballad. “Releasing some pressure.” Yes, here’s some of that energy again- with an appealing soft flow. “Find yourself a friend” Is close to an instrumental, and the near-background lyrics are surprisingly Sesame Street-ish. “Count it off” is a fun dance song, but undistinguished as noted above. “Good to go.” You think this is going to be the ladies, but it’s to the hardworking people of America (and only them). Rapping an ordinary law-abiding day is unintentionally funny. “Lovehold.” Here we’re going for the ladies. It’s competent. “Street soldiers” is another socially conscious critique, but even slower so we can get Hammer’s story in. It’s also a bit more in the mindset of the “street soldier,” though with an aspiration lament.Though it seems a milquetoast compared to his contemporaries, it’s still derived from Hammer’s experience growing up. Still, three slow songs in a row kills the album’s momentum. “Do not pass me by” injects some unexpected soul music, though it’s more a relief we get a fast-paced rap. It’s honestly kind of a relief that we get a religious song after the small allusions in a couple of songs and his overall attitude. “Gaining momentum” is a little late, though it’S still a little slow relative to what (roughly?) corresponds to a “side A.” There’s a lot of chanting in this album, too. |
|
repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563 
|
Post by repulsionist on Apr 6, 2022 15:14:15 GMT -5
I declare that I do not have the legitimacy required by the title of this record and thereby quit my review of said record. Foo Lish |
|
|
|
Post by King Charles’s Butterfly on Apr 7, 2022 16:53:42 GMT -5
I declare that I do not have the legitimacy required by the title of this record You will never live this down. |
|
|
|
Post by Nudeviking on Apr 8, 2022 1:29:33 GMT -5
I guess since I was the one that nominated this one I should actually review it so here are some words about MC Hammer's Too Legit To Quit. I got this album for Christmas in 1991 and spent most of my Christmas break listening to it on a shitty GPX Portable Cassette player and playing Ultima: Exodus on the ol' Nintendo Entertainment System. I upgraded to a CD copy at some point in the late 90s or early 00s when used CD stores were a thing and you could get a copy of Too Legit To Quit for loose change. I'm never really bummed out if a Hammer song comes up on shuffle mode but to be forthright I haven't listened to this album straight through in probably a decade so I've no idea if it holds up or not. Guess there's only one way to find out...
"This Is The Way We Roll" - What a good fucking album opener this is. Solid party jam. Hammer's rolling all kinds of letters that generally aren't rolled and it's the best thing ever. Horns. Wailing guitars. What's not to like?
"Brothers Hang On" - Social conscious rap about crack, racism, prison and being black in America. The image of MC Hammer sleeping with a pair of knives in his hands is kind of ludicrous. I'm pretty sure this song is the first time I ever heard the word "dildo" (Hammer at one point uses "glass dildo" as a euphemism for a crack pipe) so I learned what that was because of Hammer. Also of note, the dude who sings in the background as Hammer raps really goes buck wild on this bellow singing, "YOU GOT TO HANG ON!!!!" and "ON MY JOCK!!!!" and the like is awesome.
"2 Legit 2 Quit" - The big hit. The song punches you in the dick with synthesized orchestral maneuvers from the jump. This song is great but would probably be better as a three or four minute radio edit.
"Living in a World Like This" - I haven't listened to this album in years but the second this started I realized I still knew all the lyrics by heart. It's weird how memory works. The song itself another slow jam rap about the cycle of poverty and the desperate things folks will do to get out of that cycle. It's fine if a bit longer than it needs to be.
"Tell Me (Why Can't We Live Together)" - "Can we all get along?" a year or so before Rodney King uttered those words in the midst of L.A. Riots. A halfhearted call for unity and togetherness that touches on the same social ills that Hammer already rapped way more forcefully about "Brothers Hang On" and "Living in a World Like This." This one is maybe a bit more hopeful than those songs but also seems a lot less like it's a thing Hammer believes is actually possible in the world.
"Release Some Pressure" - The horns, weird creeping bassline, and lady vocals in this are all great, as is the call and response bit at the end but this is another song that would have been better if it was a minute or two shorter.
"Find Yourself a Friend" - MC Hammer wants to know why he's lonely. This is another song where Hammer is rolling letters that are generally not rolled. More singers need to roll Ws and stuff since it makes no goddamn sense. The lady singing the hook is good. Hammer wants to put it in the mix.
"Count It Off" - The way he rolls his letters is going to cause me to go mad like some ancient text does to a character in a Lovecraft story. Like how is he rolling Es? So perplexing is this vocal pattern that I nearly missed the fact that he rapped about his music getting "your drawers wet." Solid 90s Hi-NRG "GO! GO! GO! GO!" gang vocals in this one. Love the Casio strings at the close of the song.
"Good To Go" - Hammer wants me to know that I'm doing the right thing working a 9 to 5. Hammer puts WAY more effort into his morning ablutions than I do. Hammer does have a pretty good attitude towards work though in that he's only working because he "loves to play." The song takes a weird turn about halfway through where Hammer starts rapping about fucking a dudes girlfriend while that guy is in prison. I no longer feel like this song speaks to my experience as a "salaryman" working a 9 to 5 job...
"Lovehold" - What is this chaste-ass fuck-jam? I feel like Hammer probably should have left fuck-jams to the experts (Prince) if he wasn't willing to go all the way with them.
"Street Soldiers" - This is almost a dirge with Hammer not even bothering to rap as he does a spoken word piece about street soldiers dying, getting locked up, or hooked on the crack they previously were just selling "for the money." It's kind of a weird song but I kind of respect Hammer for putting shit like this on the follow-up to his big crossover album. Like how many white kids in the suburbs first heard about crack and systematic racism because of songs like this and "Brothers Hang On?" I'm guessing a non-zero number.
"Do Not Pass Me By" - Gospel choir action! Turntable scratching! Hammer's here to roll more letters that have no business being rolled as he raps about God. Like how in the fuck does one roll a D? I'm not sure but Hammer does it here.
"Gaining Momentum" - This song fucking rules! It's got a good hook, Hammer's rolling Ts and Ms and Gs all over the place and the lady who sings the hook has got the WOAH OH OH style down pat. The backing vocalist dude who comes in towards the end to bellow sing, "WE'RE GAININ'!!!! MOMENTUM!!!! YOU CAN'T STOP US!! WE'RE GAININ' MO MEN NUUUUUM!!!" as the song fades out is legitimately one of my favorite things to ever happen in a song in the history of all recorded music.
I got a couple of bonus tracks that were on the cassette version of the album I had in my youth but were left off the CD version. There were two other songs on the cassette version but both those were just remixes of other songs that appeared on the album so I'm not going to bother with reviewing them because this album is already long enough without getting into remixes and the like.
"Burn It Up" - Urgent-ass party rap where Hammer starts by counting down how many seconds the listener has to get "a fly girl and come on with it BAY BAY!!!!" Lots of baritone sax here. I'm pretty sure the music for this one was also used for the Hammerman cartoon theme song. It's a shame this got relegated to the cassette version because this is legitimately better than maybe 80% of the stuff that made it to the album proper. Just insane high energy. Awesome flow. A completely bonkers level of inappropriately rolled letters. This might be the only song on the album that doesn't need about two minutes cut out of it.
"Addams Groove" - Hammer's contribution to the Addams Family soundtrack shows up here as a bonus cut. This is another cut that works pretty well since it's far tighter than a lot of the shaggy dog songs that populate the proper album. Also hearing MC Hammer rap about borrowing pepper (for his chicken) from the Addams Family is kind of funny.
I'm not going to lie when one of these songs pops up on shuffle mode they're not bad but listening to this straight through from beginning to end is kind of a test of endurance. A lot of these songs are kind of long for seemingly no reason. I mean maybe if you're at the club a six minute party rap song is okay but to just sit in a cubicle listening to Hammer bellowing overdubbed asides for seven minutes while his posse sings is a bit much. In small doses this album's not bad but it would have been much better if the bulk of these songs were cut down to the 3:30 to 4:00 minute range.
|
|
