• Faith: Christian
• Career: Musician
• Birthday:  March 30, 1962

Stanley Kirk Burell, better known by his stage name MC Hammer, is a rapper known for hit songs like “U Can’t Touch This,” ‘2 Legit to Quit,” and “Pumps and a Bump,” extravagant choreography, flashy dance movements, and his eponymous Hammer pants. Remembered for his quick rise to fame, Hammer has also been a celebrity spokesperson and an entrepreneur. A multi-award winner, Hammer is considered a “forefather” and pioneering innovator of pop rap and is the first hip-hop artist to achieve diamond status with his album “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em.”

After being labeled a sellout and with the changing landscape of hip-hop music, Hammer tried to appeal to the rise of gangsta rap. However, due to overexposure and critical backlash, his popularity waned by the mid-1990s, which led to a highly publicized bankruptcy starting in 1996. Along with a Mattel doll and other merchandise, Hammer starred in a Saturday morning cartoon called “Hammerman” in 1991. He became an ordained preacher during the late 1990s and hosted “M.C. Hammer and Friends,” a Christian ministry program on TBN.

He was also a dance judge on “Dance Fever” in 2003, was the co-creator of the dance website DanceJam.com, and was executive producer of his reality show titled “Hammertime,” which aired on A&E during the summer of 2009. Throughout his career, Hammer has managed his own recording business as a record label CEO. As a result, he created and produced his own music and acts, including Ho Frat Hoo!, Oaktown’s 3.5.7, Special Generation, Analise, and Oakland Fight Club. Hammer associated, collaborated and recorded with Teddy Riley, Tupac Shakur, Tha Dogg Pound, Deion Sanders, and Big Daddy Kane.

BET ranked Hammer as the number seven “Best Dancer of All Time,” and Vibe’s “The Best Rapper Ever Tournament declared him the 17th favorite of all time during the first round. Hammer continues to perform concerts at music venues and appears in television advertisements, along with participating in social media and ministry/outreach functions. He’s also active in community sports activities, being interviewed nationally and locally.

What religion is MC Hammer?

In 1984, Hammer started attending Bible studies, joined a street ministry, and formed a gospel rap group with Jon Gibson known as the Holy Ghost Boy(s). In 1986, he and Tramaine Hawkins performed with Gibson’s band in concerts at various venues, like the Beverly Theatre in Beverly Hills. Hammer was raised Pentecostal but strayed from his Christian faith during his success before returning to ministry. His awareness of this can be found in a movie he wrote and starred in called “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em: The Movie,” in which he also plays a preacher named Reverend Pressure. Nonetheless, as a tribute to his faith, Hammer promised to dedicate at least one song on each album to God.