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MC Hammer Archives - AllHipHop

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Greg Mack Shares More KDAY History and Discusses Racism In Radio

By: Timsanchez818Category: Features

We now conclude our two-part story with radio legend Greg Mack and for those who might dispute that, yes he is a legend. Back before the artists that you now refer to as legends became legends, they needed a home to be heard and 1580 KDAY was that place whether it was an East Coast rapper or local West Coast ones just looking for some love and to have their new songs played. The fire caught on at stations in other cities that were initially reluctant to give Rap a voice but the success of the format caused them to take notice and embrace the change. After 1580 KDAY left the airwaves (the weak AM signal couldn’t keep up with the FM stations that were adopting the Hip-Hop format), Greg Mack left programming and ventured in to the radio station ownership field and is currently back behind the microphone hosting his own R & B show every Saturday night on 94.7 The Wave. Read on as Greg challenges rappers and artists to become radio owners, gives his feelings on the current 93.5 KDAY station and talks about the racism that still exists in radio today. Put your reading glasses on once again and jump in to Part 2 of this AllHipHop.com exclusive. Click here for Part 1 Tell me about the time that you first heard “Boyz N Tha Hood” by Eazy-E before you premiered it on KDAY. I was at the Casa Camino Real and Dr. Dre came to the club and said, “Greg. I’m working with this new kid and I just did a record with him. He’s going to invest in me. I want you to hear this record and give me your thoughts.” We left the club and went to the car and popped in the cassette. We listened to it and I told him that it just might work but he needed to clean it up if he wanted it on the air. He agreed to clean it up and I agreed to try it out on the air. The kid was Eazy-E of course. That was about midnight and the next day by 2 pm, Dr. Dre had me a clean version. We played it and by nightfall it was the most requested record. People reacted to it quickly and it stayed number one for a long time. Even when Dre did a song with me and Eazy called “Radio,” it was the same thing. He called me and told me that he needed a DJ on it, so he had me listen to the record and I asked him what he wanted me to do. He told me to just talk and pretend we were on the radio. I did my part and he told me that was it. I was like, “In the first try?” And he said, “Yeah. That’s what I wanted. You nailed it.” I left, never signed anything, never got any royalties on it (laughs). I didn’t know that “m####” was going to be a platinum record. We were just cool like that. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3l5O2i3gUc&w=420&h=315] When N.W.A. started fighting with each other, were you involved in any way? You were cool with all sides. It was like you said, I was cool with everybody. I never got involved in the business side of things. Nobody ever came to you with their problems or frustrations? Yeah but only about this b*tch or that b*tch or lend me some money to help me pay for this abortion – but never really anything on the business side. I’m just a radio guy and people seem to forget that. The music side kind of propelled my name out there but that’s because the people that I played became stars. Salt-n-Pepa wouldn’t have hit if I didn’t play their B-Side “Push It” and the same with J.J. Fad if I didn’t play their B-Side “Supersonic.” I get all of that but that’s my DJ side. I didn’t go in to the studio and create anything. I don’t know how to make a hit. I’m just the radio guy. So many legendary acts came to you to break their records. Aside from N.W.A. there were acts like Salt-n-Pepa, Will Smith as The Fresh Prince, J.J. Fad and so on. Digital Underground, 2Pac, Big Daddy Kane – we can go on and list about 40 to 50 names. I’ve got a story about each and every one of them too. Big Daddy Kane, people don’t know that he was so shy and quiet. I’ve got so many stories. I’m praying that God allows me to write a book one day. There’s so much behind these people than what you see. What’s funny is that it’s all good stuff. There’s really no drama. A lot of the rappers are really good people but there’s an image that they have to uphold to keep street credibility but when you get to know them, they are really good people – even Suge Knight. I knew him before the world did and he’s a really good guy. It’s the same with Jerry Heller – he’s a great person. A lot of people in the business that have been characterized as evil, are actually good people. In Hip-Hop, a lot of bullsh*t gets said and people would rather believe the bullsh*t than hear the real story. I remember when MC Hammer and 3rd Bass had their beef, I had the group come to the station to get on the air with me and Hammer (who was on the phone) and we talked about it and I was under the opinion that we squashed it all. About 6 months later I was at a convention and their DJ Richie Rich came up to me and grabbed me by the collar. He was like, “Motherf*cker you almost got us killed! You set us up!” I was like, “What the f*ck are you talking about?” Come to find out after they left the studio that […]

AllHipHop’s Night With Michel’le: Exclusive Interview and Performance

By: Timsanchez818Category: Alternatives

Michel’le Toussaint is known in the music world as the naturally squeaky Minnie Mouse voiced woman that can instantly transform her singing vocals in to a strong and powerful thing of pure beauty. And yes, she’s the baby mom and former fiancée’ of Dr. Dre and the former wife of Suge Knight (although Michel’le has stated of late that the two were never officially married). Michel’le released her self-titled critically acclaimed and platinum selling debut album in 1989, which spawned several hits including the classic, “Something In My Heart.” Afterwards, Michel’le wasn’t heard much of in the music world outside of the stories and rumors in regards to her love life with Dr. Dre and later Suge Knight. Fast forward to 2013, Michel’le has reemerged and has broken the silence on her life for the past 20 years by being a part of the TV One series R & B Divas L.A. Last Wednesday, October 16, AllHipHop.com spent an evening with Michel’le as she performed many of her famous songs at Club R & B Live Hollywood in Studio City, CA. After the show, she sat down with us to give us an exclusive interview about some of the things that have occurred in her career and life over the past 20 plus years. And we have an exclusive taped performance of “Something In My Heart” for you to enjoy! Read below. AllHipHop.com: When did you discover that you could project your naturally high pitched voice to a powerful singing one? Michel’le: It was in the 2nd grade but I didn’t tell anyone. I thought it was spooky because it wasn’t normal. I only did it in privacy. I made sure that nobody knew about it. AllHipHop.com: When did you decide to let your singing voice be known? Michel’le: It was for Dr. Dre when I was a teenager. AllHipHop.com: It took you that long? Michel’le: Yes because I didn’t think there was any talent on my end. I didn’t know that I had the talent to make money with it. AllHipHop.com: So your parents, grandparents and other family members had no idea of what you could do? Michel’le: No and even if they knew, they were so busy trying to feed us and doing what they do. AllHipHop.com: So how did Dr. Dre find out about your hidden singing talent? Michel’le: By singing on the World Class Wreckin’ Cru’s “Turn Off The Lights” song. I filled in for the original singer that didn’t make it that night. That’s how he heard me sing. AllHipHop.com: It was all just by chance because you were the only female around? Michel’le: Yeah. They gave the lyrics and told me to sing. They didn’t tell me what kind of melody or anything. I made that up all on my own. I was only 16 years old. Dre just looked at me in shock and I was like, “Bye y’all.” I didn’t see him for months after that. AllHipHop.com: How did you end up even being at the studio that night? Michel’le: I was there with Lonzo, the head of the World Class Wreckin’ Cru. I didn’t know Dre yet but he was the engineer/producer. I was just hanging out. He heard me sing and he gave me that “whoa” reaction. Like I said, I told them goodbye after that and went home and got up for work the next morning. I didn’t hear from anybody for a while. AllHipHop.com: When did you finally hear back from someone? Michel’le: It was when I heard the song on the radio – I believe it was on KDAY. That was a few weeks after the recording session. My Dad heard the song and was like, “I think that’s you!” I told him that I didn’t think it was but then he told me it sounded like the song that I described about from the studio that night. I heard it myself and it was true. There was no paperwork or nothing. No check. No coins. What can I tell you? AllHipHop.com: Even to this day, you’ve received nothing from “Turn Off The Lights?” Michel’le: No but God Bless, because it’s done so much for me. AllHipHop.com: This led to you signing with Ruthless Records. Michel’le: Yes, I signed to Ruthless Records, thanks to Eazy-E. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzCuooE2xYs&w=420&h=315] AllHipHop.com: One of the signature songs from your Ruthless Records/ATCO album is a song that you sang tonight, “Something In My Heart.” It’s such a beautiful song. You had an interesting video for it with everybody dressed up in suits. Michel’le: Everybody was in it! The D.O.C, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E – it was a historic video. We filmed that on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA. AllHipHop.com: Ice Cube used that video to diss N.W.A. in the “No Vaseline” song where he said that they looked like Bozo’s. Did you take any offense to that? Michel’le: No, I knew it was coming. That’s where music was going. We had infused R & B with Hip-Hop. AllHipHop.com: But you weren’t upset that he used your project in his diss song towards their group? Michel’le: No, I wasn’t upset and Dre wasn’t upset either to be honest with you. It was what it was. That was Ice Cube’s opinion I think, and that’s all it was. AllHipHop.com: But you found yourself in the middle of another diss song aimed at Dre when Tim Dog dissed you in “F*ck Compton.” Michel’le: I don’t even know who that is, still to this day. AllHipHop.com: You’ve never heard the song? Michel’le: I never knew who that was. People have told me but I’ve never addressed it because I don’t know who that is. I’m not hating, I’m just stating. We (Michel’le and Dre) were like, “Where is this coming from?” There wasn’t even an East Coast or West Coast rivalry at the time. Dre is above all of that. He’s a genius. He had a 5 year plan back then and it turned in to […]

MC Hammer Lands Gig As Oakland’s Official Tourism Spokesman

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: MOBILE

(AllHipHop News) MC Hammer will support his hometown of Oakland, California, by acting as the city’s official tourism spokesman. The rapper is part of a new marketing campaign titled “Oakland. To Know it is To Love It,” which features the rapper espousing the positive changes that have occurred in Oakland over the past 25-years. “My admiration, love and understanding of what the culture of Oakland is, is from experience,” MC Hammer said. “I’ve been here 50 years. Our city is one of the greatest cities to ever rise up and stand up.” MC Hammer is a native of East Oakland. He received his “MC Hammer” moniker while acting as a bat boy for the Oakland Athletics as an 11-year-old. Later in his career, former Oakland A’s players Mike Davis and Dwayne Murphy invested $20,000 each into Hammer’s rap label, Bust It Productions, which released his break-through album Feel My Power. On the campaign’s official website, MC Hammer offers up six different areas for tourists to experience Oakland, including its unique neighborhoods, the city’s theaters, Lake Merritt, Jack London Square, the company’s sports teams and the digital community in the city. “If you meet people from Oakland, there’s some of the warmest people, they carry hope, they inspire, they create,” Hammer explained. “Oakland is a hub of creativity. We are we are, we’re political, we’re artsy, we’re musicians.” Check out the video below:

Fast Life, Fast Fall: The Price Of Fame

By: SeandrasimsCategory: Uncategorized

We live in a quick moving world. We watch others live the fast life, and we often desire the same. But as the saying goes, ‘easy come, easy go.’ While it’s not just society’s fault, and while we see people make millions and acquire the lifestyles that accompany it, each one of these elements, plus others, have fed into financial immaturity. ESPN’s “30 For 30: Broke” recently touched on the astronomical percentage of athletes who end up with nothing. According to Sports Illustrated, 60% of former NBA players are broke within five years of retirement. For the NFL, two years after they walk off the field, 78% are under financial woes. But, athletes aren’t the only ones living outside of their comfort zones, or to impress those who won’t help once it’s all gone. When is enough, enough? If you grew up with nothing, does that imply you will never learn how to keep anything? Music glorifies it, but there isn’t much good that comes from blowing money fast. The strip club theme songs, flashy cars, lavish gifts, and once in a lifetime trips, are an almost hourly recurrence on the radio stations from ATL to L.A., and back. But the rented mansions and clothes the stylists will return once the shoot is done should actually show an up-and-coming entertainer that many of their realities are actually just the opposite. And while we aren’t what we listen to, we become engulfed in things the more we hear it. Even “YOLO” insinuates that living for now far outweighs planning for tomorrow. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8TREN0CkB4] Ignorance is bliss. Ignorance is also the life code of some of the biggest names out there. Chances are, the hot artist that millions love now will someday run cold – once the shows stop, singles fail to catch a buzz, and they don’t make the most of fame while they have it. Many miss the business side while chasing success; from starting other ventures to starting to learn money management, they don’t take heed to what they should. Then they are left with stacks of bills and still plenty of people with their hands out for the last bit of money they’re attempting to hold onto. Some familiar names in music such as Toni Braxton, TLC, MC Hammer, and Young Buck, have all had face the ugly side of the music business known as bankruptcy. While they aren’t the only ones, the sad fact is they probably won’t be the last ones either. When you enter a world where everyone has all the most exclusive things, things become your focus. You work hard the same way they do, you put in hours in the studio, you start from the ground up, so now it’s time to stand up and show the world all you have. Actually it’s time to hold on tight to every penny, so you can count them after the spotlight dims. At any income level, the only way to ensure that you’ll continue growing wealth is to spend less than you earn. That sounds simple enough – basic, if you will – but is one of the most complex principles in entertainment, from the looks of it. Fame isn’t easy for some, and the price tag can be heavy, to the point of breaking one star after another. Yet and still, several houses, way too many vehicles, and cute women who make even cuter babies, keep putting those on TV and stages in the same predicament. Much of nothing leaves nothing. Living a dream shouldn’t end in a nightmare. At some point, these celebrities should use some common sense – or borrow some. After all, that’s better than having to borrow money. It’s always easier from the outside looking in, but when are those on the inside going to start looking at what fame could be doing to them? It’s never any of us until it hits home, or until that home is taken away. Tawni Fears is a freelance writer and contributor to AllHipHop.com. Follow her on Twitter (@brwnsugaT).