Description
MC Hammer at the age of 39, he was one of the producers for the VH1 movie “TOO LEGIT: The M.C. Hammer Story”, starring Romany Malco and Tangi Miller as his wife, which aired on December 19, 2001. The film is a biopic which chronicles the rise and fall of the artist and became the second highest-rated original movie in the history of VH1 and broadcast simultaneously on BET. “The whole script came from me,” says Hammer, “I sat down with a writer and gave him all the information.”
“TOO LEGIT: The MC Hammer Story” features original master recordings authorized by MC Hammer himself, of the smash hit songs including “U Can’t Touch This,” “Too Legit to Quit” and “Pray.” ALL commercials professionally edited out of the original broadcast.
This film is an unbiased look into the rise and fall of late 80’s and early 90’s rap superstar MC Hammer. It begins showing Hammer as a ball boy for his hometown Oakland Athletics, and ends with his departure from Death Row Records. It delves deep into the ruthless dirty business of record companies and dirty sanchez’s. The most moving scene in the film is when Hammer drops a deuce in the pool at a Death Row event.
SYNOPSIS
Oakland, California, 1974. The baseball fans pouring into Oakland-Alameda Coliseum – home of Reggie Jackson and the Oakland A’s – can’t help but notice 11-year-old Stanley Kirk Burrell as he blisters the pavement with a slick James Brown imitation, dancing for tip money in the stadium’s parking lot. Stanley and his cohorts Wee-Wee and Juicy are hustling for tickets, itching to cheer their hometown team from the cheap seats. Among the onlookers is A’s owner Charlie Finley, who applauds Stanley’s talent and enterprise, and offers the youngster his first paid gig – as the A’s batboy! Stanley becomes the team’s mascot, and is dubbed “Hammer” by Reggie, who notes the boy’s resemblance to legendary homerun king “Hammerin’ Hank” Aaron.
Stanley is profoundly impressed by the experience of being out on the big-league diamond, struck by the intense adulation that the players draw from thousands and thousands of fans. He wants to be a major leaguer, or as he tells his older brother Wesley, “It’s like God told me I was gonna be bigger than Reggie. Hall of Fame. All of it!”
Wesley, a serious young man who is acutely aware of the poverty and despair that dominates their neighborhood and others like it, chides him: “You and a billion other black kids.”
Now nineteen, Hammer – as he now calls himself – is given a coveted personal tryout by Finley and the A’s. But Hammer’s undeniable talents do not extend to mastering big-league fastballs. Faced with the prospect of dealing drugs or hustling for dough, Hammer instead joins the Navy, escaping the streets in return for a hitch. Afterwards, he returns to Oakland, becomes a preacher at Bethany Baptist Church, and marries beautiful young Sunday School teacher Stephanie (Tangi Miller).
In his modest home with wife and new baby, life is good for the good-hearted Hammer. But there’s a void. Singing with the choir isn’t enough to fulfill Hammer’s musical dreams. And with Stephanie’s encouragement, Hammer begins his quest to land a record deal. It costs money to put together an act, however. But his old friends from the Navy and the A’s are all too happy to ante up the scratch he needs to launch the attempt.
With his roaring music-and-dance extravaganza, Hammer and The Posse score big at some local gigs, and soon find themselves signed up as Capitol Records’ first rap artists. When he hits the road, Hammer upstages headliners like New Edition, and won’t back off. His energy and charisma break Hammer’s act beyond rap audiences, and mainstream fans drive the former preacher to notch up a slew of platinum records and Grammy Awards. By the time 1990 rolls to a close, MC Hammer is the hottest act in the music world.
Hammer begins to generate huge amounts of money – only to pay it all out again, building a gigantic mansion and state-of-the-art studio, buying a string of racehorses, and maintaining a bloated entourage of old friends and backup performers, all of whom are on Hammer’s payroll. The much-hyped “Too Legit to Quit” tour hits the road and plays to less-than-full houses. Cracks begin to show in Hammer’s empire, and the fastest-rising star of the hip hop era begins an even faster descent into bankruptcy.
“Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story” was directed by Artie Mandelberg and written by John Wierick.
Stars: Marche Meeks and Robert Bailey Jr.
Credited cast:
Marche Meeks … 2pac’s Killer
Robert Bailey Jr. … Young MC Hammer
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jessse Adams … Chris
Brent Anderson Brent Anderson … Michael Fiebish
Sam Austin … Pete
Angela Bennett … Lavelle
Lamont Bentley … Tupac ‘2Pac’ Shakur
Rosalind Branch-Muhammad … Dancer
Waltriessa De Leon … Dancer
Niambi Dennis … Francine Williams
Ken Farmer … Dick Williams
Kareem J. Grimes … Freddie
Joe Grisaffi … Music Video Director
Chris Hatridge … Stage Hand
Bryan James … Sheriff Jailer
Constance Jones … Sara Jackson
Kristina Khorrami … Concert Girl (as Kristina Berger)
Jason Konopisos-Alvarez … Mover (as Jason Konopisos)
Romany Malco … M.C. Hammer
Marcus Marshall … Crew Member #5
Tangi Miller … Stephanie
Tony Norris … Marion ‘Suge’ Knight
Colin Platt … Concertgoer
Olivia Reed … Akeiba
Rocky K. Roberts … Press Member
Lamonte Rogers … No Bones
Colin Sabin … Fan
Ken Thomas … Newt
Royale Watkins
Bill Wiatrak … Recording Engineer
Tennille Williams … Music Video Dancer (as Tennille Villagomez)
Michele L. Jennings … Dancer (uncredited)
SPECIAL BONUS MC HAMMER LIVE!
The Arsenio Hall Show 06/29/89: This is we believe the second appearance of MC Hammer on the program and is of the classic segments from the Arsenio Hall show; this is what he does best. Arsenio brought us on national television an appearance from MC Hammer. This is an early early appearance from Hammer before his huge hit “You Can’t Touch This”. After Arsenio introduces “MC Hammer and his Posse” Angie B comes out and delivers her introduction and then commences a sheer explosion of energy that showed American audiences the spirit dedication, ambition and unbridled energy MC Hammer and his posse would deliver to his audiences. Hammer and his posse devastated the crowd with early hit “They Put Me In The Mix”. This is a simply explosive performance I dare you not to get up and start dancing to this one! Following this one of a kind performance is an interview with Hammer as well CLASSIC HAMMER AT HIS BEST hungry and ready to dominate
Kenya Casey (verified owner) –
TOO LEGIT: MC Hammer Story was a great movie and I enjoyed it. The video and sound of the DVD was very good.