MC Hammer

Released: February 12, 1990

Featuring: Special Generation

Songwriter: Marvin Gaye MC Hammer

Producer: James Earley Felton C. Pilate II MC Hammer

(Help them. Help our children. Help them. Help our children)

[Chorus]
Will you let them be? (Help the children)
Will you help the children live to see... (Help the children)
A generation's trying (bombs and crack)
Oh, how we're dying
(Dance, help them)
Will you let them be? (Help the children)
Will you help the children live to see... (Help the children)
A better day is coming (we need love)
To keep our lives going

[Verse 1]
Life is here and then it's gone
And what seems right can be oh-so wrong
Let's protect, and not molest... a young girl
And help them live to see... this world
Clearly, as it is
And pray for the mother with kids (kids)
Who's lost control, but not her soul
Many kids will die before they're 20 years old

[Chorus]

[Verse 2]
Pops (pops) where in the world have you gone
I see Momma (momma) by the telephone
Waiting (waiting) but you don't call
Tears on her face and I see them fall
It hurts (hurts) but will go on
You're just another brother who's left his home
And family (family), yeah we cry
Momma says she love you and I don't even know why (why why why)

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
Money and death, the lie, the truth
A dime bag of crack, the end of you
Black and white, a constant fight
Years and years, and day and night
There was a right, I've got to stand
To make a better way for a young black man
In a land (a land) where the people smile
Been holding me back for such a long while (while, while, wow, while)

[Chorus]

[Verse 4]
Help them, will you let them be?
Children (children) don't be fooled
And learn about the way that man was ruled
This country (country) where we live
And read about the sixties and what they did
So that we (we) won't forget
And love one another and give respect
When I see (see) a man who's old
A woman who's grey, it touches my soul
Because I know (know) they paved the way
So we could be here and live this way
There was a time (time) not long ago
When in the-front-of-the-bus into the back I had to go
It appears (it appears) that things have changed
Maybe it's in the method but it's still the same game (game, game, game, game, game, game)

[Abbreviated Chorus]

Stanley Kirk Burrell (born 30 March 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer, is an American rapper, dancer, entrepreneur, spokesman and occasional actor from Oakland, California. He had his greatest commercial success and popularity from the late 1980s until the late 1990s. Remembered for his rapid rise to fame, Hammer is known for his hit records (such as “U Can’t Touch This” and “2 Legit 2 Quit”), flashy dance movements, choreography and his trademark Hammer pants. Hammer’s superstar-status and entertaining showmanship made him a household name and Hip-Hop icon. He has sold more than fifty million records worldwide.

A multi-award winner, MC Hammer is considered a pioneer and innovator of pop rap, and is the first Hip-Hop artist to achieve diamond status for an album. Hammer was later considered a sellout due in part to overexposure as an entertainer, and as a result of being too “commercial” when Rap was “hardcore”, then his image later becoming increasingly “gritty” to once again adapt to the ever-changing landscape of rap. Burrell became a preacher during the late 1990s with a Christian ministry program called MC Hammer and Friends. Additionally, he starred in a Saturday morning cartoon called Hammerman in 1991 and was executive producer of his own reality show called Hammertime which aired during the summer of 2009. Prior to becoming ordained, Hammer signed to Suge Knight’s Death Row Records in 1995.

Throughout his career, Hammer has managed his own recording business. As a result, he has created and produced his own acts including Oaktown’s 3.5.7, Common Unity, Special Generation, Analise, One Cause One Effect, Teabag, Dom Kimberley, Geeman, DRS, Pleasure Ellis, B Angie B, Stooge Playaz, Ho Frat Hoo! and Wee Wee, among others. A part of additional record labels, he has collaborated and has been associated with 2Pac, Teddy Riley, Felton Pilate, Tha Dogg Pound, The Whole 9, Deion Sanders, and Big Daddy Kane, as well as others.

more tracks from the album

Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ’Em

From the album

Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ’Em (1990)

MC Hammer popular songs

Help the ChildrenMC Hammer

MC Hammer

Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ’Em