M.C. Hammer
Written and Produced by Jason Goodman
MC Hammer was the second show we did, and was also considered a pilot episode – the show debuted back to back with Milli Vanilli in September, 1997. Hammer’s story – with its dramatic rise and even more dramatic fall – was another natural for Behind The Music. And because, like Milli Vanilli, Hammer had not only had a great fall, but had been openly mocked in the media, there was a golden opportunity for redemption. And that’s exactly what I was aiming for.
Sorry for the low video quality of this one – it was taped off the air the night it debuted, and is the only copy I have left.
Click here to watch my favorite act.
Behind The Music: MC Hammer • Written and Produced by Jason Goodman
There was a big difference between Hammer’s excessive behavior and the deception of Milli Vanilli or the drug and sexual excesses of many rock stars. Hammer was happily married and didn’t use drugs – his weakness was people. At the moment of his greatest success, Hammer had hundreds of people from the Oaktown Projects, where he grew up, on the payroll. As I got deeper into the project, I felt great empathy for Hammer. He wanted to share the fruits of his success with his neighborhood, and he not only got accused of selling out, it ended up ruining him. I remember realizing while I was putting the show together that Hammer was a victim of a great injustice, and I still think so today.
