MC Hammer

The best thing about the catch phrase “too legit to quit,” is that the man who created it is living proof. MC Hammer burst onto the music scene in 1988 with his major label debut, Let’s Get it Started, but it wasn’t until his 1990 follow up Please Hammer Don’t Hurt Em when people started to get the message that he was not just a fad, with his flamboyant wardrobe and memorable hooks.

Not only is his sophomore LP the best-selling rap album of all time, but several endorsement deals, a Saturday morning cartoon and an extraordinary amount of mainstream success allowed Hammer to break barriers for hip hop, demonstrating its market potential in pop culture.

Hammer’s reign seemingly came to an end when he filed for bankruptcy in 1996, but he reconfigured his master plan and is back in business. Extremely tech savvy and with four businesses of his own including, Dancejam.com and a dance studio, he lectures at the top colleges and universities in the United States, tours the world with his dynamic stage show and still finds time to return to his normal life as Stanley Burrell.

Now starring in A&E’s new reality series, Hammertime, the world watches as he balances several different roles as entertainer, entrepreneur and father, raising six children with his wife of 24 years, maintaining a productive home. Stay Tuned caught up with the family man to get the secrets to his success.

How did you ink a deal with A&E for a family show?

About a year and a half ago, they contacted me and asked if I was interested. I told them I might be if the terms and conditions meet a certain criteria so that was the genesis of the relationship.

Terms and conditions? You mean like not being followed with cameras 24/7?

[Laughs] No. We definitely weren’t filmed 24/7. We did it for about three months but not all day.

You’re pretty tech savvy, so were you hands on with the editing of the show?

I didn’t do too much of the editing. Anything that I did, I did over the phone [but] I was confident. I saw some initial roughs of what we were doing in post [production] and it was true to what was happening in the house so I just let them go.

You have five kids plus your nephew and they’re all different ages from toddler to young adult. How do you manage dealing with children of such a motley age range?

They all grew up together in the same house. Years change for everybody so with the 21-year-old, the closest sibling that she had was her little cousin—my nephew—who’s 18, so they’re not that far apart. Then, my other daughter will be 16 next month—so I have 18, 16, 14 and 11—they’re just a couple years behind each other, for the most part. The big jump is for the 3-year-old. He has the largest gap of anybody, but it’s pretty manageable just having them two or three years apart. It’s kind of like each person wants to hang out with the one that’s a little bit older.

About you being tech savvy, you’ve bounced back from bankruptcy with several businesses, most of them technology based. How did you get so knowledgeable?

I happened to be located in Silicon Valley. It’s where I lived for 20-plus years and it was probably 1995, when we were really talking heavy about what the internet would be and at that point, I wanted to find out when would we have video on the net, so I had to learn about three key components that were missing. By having an all-out search on how we can get it done, it made me become very savvy in technology. I used to go to a company called Silicon Graphics—and they used to let me go into their research development department. Apple also let me go over, and I met the young kid who was writing the code for QuickTime. He told me he was solving my problem about seeing video on the internet so that’s where it all started—being located in Silicon Valley, wanting to see video on the internet and being connected and getting an early understanding of the applications and the solutions.

I noticed that you incorporate Twitter in your show and you were using your flip cam for footage, so in nowaday’s climate, why is technology important in modern business as far as branding and how do you make it work for yourself?

I just lectured a course at Stanford [University], a few weeks ago, on branding and social media together, which is actually a series. I do an MIT panel, and three months ago I was at Harvard speaking on branding and social media, and I’ll do it again Aug 31, at Harvard. I talk about how social media platforms apply to modern media and to business in general. I have a very organic understanding of it so what we’re talking about doing is pretty simple. At this point, let’s say I have 800,000 people following me, then you take cable TV and you see how many people the average cable television program has. I think the average program has about 300,000 viewers, so from there you can gather where I’m going with that. It’s like you’re walking around with a broadcast network in your hand and at any moment you can broadcast 24 hours a day, not only for advertising but also on the other side from the talent perspective. Let’s say you’re an actor and you’re negotiating for a part in a movie and you have a million followers; you read the part and this other person reads it too. You both read it about even but guess who gets the job? The guy with a million followers cuts down on the marketing budget by millions of dollars because he’s talking about everything to his followers, I got a new film coming out blah blah blah, so the marketing promotion department says my God we cut down on the budget. The awareness level continues to grow about this film and we haven’t even started yet because actor x has all these followers and has been broadcasting our film, so if you understand that, then you can understand how powerful social media platforms are to business.

Hammer Fam

Your family is so progressive and your children stay out of trouble and out of the tabloids, so what’s the secret to your family’s success?

I think the real secret is that I always left MC Hammer outside and brought Stanley Burrell inside.

You’re very supportive of your daughters pursuing music careers and even help them record and perform, but did it initially bother you when you first found out that they were interested in entertainment careers?

Not at all. What I did do was, decide that I would not initially encourage it. I would let it happen organically. I’m not gonna be the type of father that said, “Hey what you need to do is go out there and be an entertainer, artist or a singer.” My daughter who is 21, made the opera at 18. She went out to the University of Texas as a student and auditioned for the Austin Symphony and they told her she was too young [but] she auditioned anyway and made it, so imagine her having the ability to sing on that level. At home, she had not even recorded an album and she’s already 18-years-old, so you know I wasn’t twisting her arm trying to force her into the music business. My other daughter who is 16—the one you saw my older daughter working with on the show—was shy. One of the byproducts of the show is that she’s not so shy anymore. She and her cousin did a YouTube video of Beyonce’s new record, “Ego.” One thing I took away from it is Sarah knows how to put the hammer into her dancing and I didn’t know she had quite got it like that. My son does. My 14-year-old son will challenge anybody. He’ll do it to you and he won’t spare your feelings.

They take after you. In the first episode you were rehearsing with dancers in a studio. Are you coming out with new material?

Yeah. I do dates all the time and the song you saw us rehearsing to was “I Got Gigs.” That’s a song that we’re shooting a video for, for an album I’m releasing this summer called “Dance Jam the Music.”

Wow, it’s great to see that you’re still in shape.

I’m three years from 50 and my 18, 19 and 20-year-old dancers are the only ones who can keep up with me now. It’s a blessing and I’m grateful. Hard work pays.

It’s great to see a positive Black family on TV. Your show, like The Cosby Show—even though that was fiction—shows that successful Black families actually exist. Even beyond race, any family could learn a lot from watching you.

Thank you. I say the other part though. I say we’re a combination from Good Times. I got some of James in me [laughs] but I hope that this show—keep in mind that I live 20 minutes from Stockton, Calif., the number one foreclosure market in America and where unemployment is over 10%—what I’m hoping is that through this show, since the whole world is aware that MC Hammer went through bankruptcy, that people going through hardships can see that through it all, you can still have a positive family and you can still cling to God and to hope, and still come out on the other side.

Hammertime airs Sunday nights at 10pm on A&E.

It’s not easy to walk away from a project you feel didn’t reach its full potential. Such is the case for Tia Mowry, who worked aggressively alongside her cast mates, production staff, and dedicated fans to convince the CW to spare The Game of cancellation.

Mowry played Melanie Barnett on The Game for three seasons.  In addition, she is a television veteran who is known for her role in Sister, Sister.  Mowry has seen it all in the fickle land of network television and says, “I do feel like I have been the product of a show being cancelled too early. I have been the product of a show that seems like everybody loves and we have a huge audience.”

Sadly, unless the CW has a sudden change of heart or some network steps in and scoops the series up, the future of Melanie, Derwin, and the new baby in their lives will be left to the imaginations of fans — both sad and angry to see their efforts to save The Game go unsuccessful.

I had the opportunity to speak with Tia on Friday, and while she expressed disappointment with how the series was treated she remains positive about her experiences working on The Game and the future it has helped provide for her.

In Tia’s first interview since the cancellation, she talks The Game, how race may or may not have factored into its cancellation, and how some need to learn about the game of comedy.

How and when did you find out the show was canceled?

I found out about the show being canceled the night before the CW had released their line-up.  They released their upfronts on Thursday so I found out that Wednesday evening.

In previous interviews you spoke about your frustration with the network failing to see the potential in The Game. Was the cancellation a shock or did you expect it?

To be honest with you it wasn’t a shock to me.  I’ve been in this business since I was 14 years old and you pick up things and learn from past experiences. I remember working on Sister, Sister and knowing that it was the last season because they do a huge amount of production cuts, which is expected when you know that it’s the last season. Why would you want to spend money on something you know you’re not going to produce in the future? You want to save as much money for your other shows. It’s just a business kind of thing to do.  Also, promotion tends to stop. They just don’t put as much money into the show as before.  A lot of people were thinking maybe it’s just because it’s the third season, or that it’s an established show and I’m like, “No, that doesn’t usually happen.”  So, no, I wasn’t shocked.

The thought of fans is that The Game was canceled because it’s a Black show.  Do you think it was racism?

That’s a very hard question to answer.  I always have to look at everything in a positive way and that’s just my being. Some people say, “Why are you always smiling” or “Why are you so happy?”  Some people think it’s corny, but it’s not. It’s a choice I decided to make in life.  I feel truly blessed to have had a show for at least three years on a reputable network. That’s just difficult in any actor’s eyes. It’s tough to have two shows that are hits. Sister, Sister was a hit and The Game was a hit…and still is a hit. So I feel very blessed and honored to have had that experience.

Now to say if it’s racism, I don’t really know if I can answer that question, but I mean, it is what it is. What I will say is that certain shows did get more attention, certain shows did get more money put into their marketing, which it helps with ratings.  The Game was not getting that and we are a Black show. So if you want to put it that way and in that regard then we weren’t getting the same treatment as certain shows on the network were getting as far as marketing value, attention, and publicity. I can say that, but to blatantly say it’s racism — I don’t know if I can answer that question.

Do you have a favorite episode or moment from the show?

I would have to say my favorite episode or moment on the show is – excuse my language I don’t normally curse outside of jobs – “Turkey Basting Bitches” [Laughs]. It was a hilarious episode and I loved seeing the jealousy between Melanie and Derwin, because in the end they really love each other. They really care for each other and love each other, they’re just immature. I think that’s why fans loved the show so much because it was so relatable. It was like, “Oh my gosh, that’s what I do.” A lot of people seemed to relate, but I definitely loved that episode. It was fun, I thought it was written really well, it was great for me.

House of Payne and Meet The Browns are the only shows with a predominantly Black cast airing on any network presently, and recently Spike Lee compared the sitcoms to minstrel shows.  What is your take on his comparison?

Wow, I did hear that he had said something about Tyler Perry but I didn’t know what he said [Laughs]. Oh my God, that’s horrible! One thing I absolutely love is that I’ve been able to play smart, independent, fun, loving, real down to Earth characters and I feel that I am blessed to be able to do that and that’s one of the main reasons why people love Mara [Brock Akil] and her writing. She writes these characters that are grounded, who are real, who are not perfect because there are people who want to see storylines tie up with a pretty little bow at the end, but that’s not life. I feel blessed to be able to play those characters. Now I really can’t speak on someone else’s opinion. I mean that’s his opinion, he’s entitled to his opinion, but Tyler Perry is bringing down the house. His shows are extremely successful and many people are watching them and that’s what networks look at. Networks look at the numbers – who’s watching what, how many people are watching, because it all boils down to advertising and money. We get half of House of Payne’s ratings, so if they’re putting out numbers then that’s what networks are gonna love and continue to put out there. I have to give Tyler props because he’s an amazing businessman and doing extremely well. And like I said, you have to look at the positive things; he’s putting many African-American actors to work and however you want to view that, that’s on you.

I love the show but some critics have accused The Game of reinforcing negative stereotypes.  I’ve read interviews with you where you talked about how much you loved the Melanie character because she didn’t play the typical wife or athlete girlfriend — what do you say to people who criticize the show?

What I’ve realized at 30 years old going on to 31 is that you can’t please everyone and to me that’s a good thing. If we were to please everyone then that means that we’re all the same and to me that’s boring. When you look at comedians and shows that are funny, they’re always playing into some type of stereotype. I mean, that’s comedy. If you don’t know that then you don’t know what comedy is. And everybody has a different view of comedy and what makes them laugh. Some people use profanity, some people don’t – ala Eddie Murphy, ala Sinbad. There are different audiences out there that relate to certain things and some relate to another thing. I think that’s where Mara was successful. The funny thing about the show is that all three of these girls are extremely different. Melanie was for the first two seasons the voice of reason. She was the one saying, “I’m not gonna do that,” “What are you guys doing?” and they were playing into the stereotypes. But when they played into the stereotypes it’s funny.

I’ve met a lot of football and basketball players who enjoy the show. They will admit that sometimes it’s exaggerated, but they were like it’s funny. That’s what’s funny about it. Some people may get it, some people may not.

Do you want The Game to be picked up elsewhere or would you rather move away from the project all together?

I would love for The Game to be picked up elsewhere. I told Mara that I’m not ready for Melanie to be over. I speak for all of the actors, there’s so much more to do with these characters, there’s so much more to find and dig. People love these characters, but not only do fans, so do the actors. I feel like Melanie has been my dream role because she’s a real person. It’s unbelievable where Mara has allowed me to go as an actress. Before The Game I couldn’t even get into an audition for a Hillary Swank movie, but The Game has opened up opportunities for people to see me in a different light.  Of course I want the show to go on, but not just because of that–  we work very well together, we’re very close and there’s so much more. The fans know that. I have never been put in this situation where fans have been so supportive of a show and everybody knows about it – the cast, Mara – The Game fans are the best fans.

In the event that the show is not picked up elsewhere what will you miss most about The Game?

Mostly, I’ll miss being under one roof with the cast and crew of The Game. If the show does go away, that will never happen again. You’ll never see everybody together working on the same project unless they make it a movie or something.

Is there anything else you have lined up for TV and film?

My sister and I are working on our production company right now. We’re like, shoot if Tyler Perry can do it, we can do it. We are doing a Lifetime movie together. I know I’ve been saying that for a while, but when projects start from the bottom and work its way up it takes time and years, but it’s pretty much almost greenlit so we should be shooting that at the end of this year or beginning of next year. I just finished shooting a video with Pleasure P. That was fun, he’s a sweetheart, he’s so nice. I also did a commercial for Sheer Cover, it’s a make up line that in my opinion is really good at tones for African-American women. So that’s what you guys can look out for me in the future so far.

Any last shout out to fans of the show?

I just want to thank the fans for supporting the show the way they do. Shout out to The Game Fanatic. Shout out to Matthew Cherry who did the “Save The Game” campaign. And shout out to the whole cast, because none of us had to do that. None of us had to be a part of a “Save The Game” campaign that had no affiliation with the network. It’s hard to get actors to do that and so just shout out to the cast. I love you guys, and whatever is meant to be will be, but the cool thing is that God always has your back.

The Game airs weekdays on BET at Noon/11c and 5pm/4c.  Click here to get your fix of all things The Game and discuss this interview on the message boards!