 |  | The Album That Earned Hammer The Sellout Tag {2 Stars} |  |
I just wanted to start by making one point. If you defend this album by saying that it was a hit record or it has hit singles on it, you're actually doing it a disservice. Hit singles do not a good album make. Vanilla Ice had hits....his albums, for the most part, are terrible. So lets get past the number of hits and start looking for the quality, people.
MC Hammer is a special case. When I heard Hammer for the first time, I loved him (I was 11 or 12 at the time). He was fun, energetic, his voice was unique, and he could dance his butt off. But as I grew older and began to gain a better appreciation for good rap music, I began to look at Hammer as the symbol for all that was wrong with rap music. The flames were fanned by groups like 3rd Bass and A Tribe Called Quest (highly respected names in the rap world) that were openly bashing him nonstop. I was 14 years old when this album dropped and I was very impressionable when it came to the words of my favorite rappers. So if Q Tip or MC Serch said Hammer was wack, then I fell right in line with what they said with no questions asked.....and so did a whole lot of other people. Hammer didn't help matters any with his soft drink commercials, cartoons, by dropping MC from his moniker, or his sneaker ads. The mans face was everywhere. But unlike Vanilla Ice, the Prince to his Michael Jackson, Hammer had redeeming qualities. He didn't come off as goofy as Ice and he was spreading a positive message. Over the years, I've come to like Hammer again, but this particular album just comes off way too cartoonish. It was almost as if he put all of his energy into everything but this album. There are a few tracks that are good for dancing to (Gaining Momentum, Too Legit To Quit, and This Is The Way We Roll), but they weren't enough to salvage things.
As far as flaws go, well, this is pretty much a pop album. At one point, MC Hammer himself said that he wasn't hip hop and that he would only refer to himself as an entertainer. As you can imagine, that rubbed a lot of the hip hop masses the wrong way. You can hear the effects of his train of thought all throughout the album. Corny beats? Check. Weak lyrics? Check. Radio friendly singles? Check. Lame, sing songy hooks? Check. Hammer should've spent more time penning lyrics instead of running around with Deion Sanders. Also, I couldn't stand him rolling his tongue in the middle of his words -- another change that came with this album. Highly, highly annoying.
Too Legit To Quit is pretty much a dance album. By hip hop standards, this album is a pretty much the definiton of what selling out is. Really, I have more respect for Hammer now than I did when this came out in '91. But this isn't his best effort at all. Really, this joint sounds more like an r&b album (which was TOTALLY unacceptable in the hardcore climate of hip hop back in '91. Despite two or three listenable tracks, I'd have to recommend passing on this album and picking up the singles if they're still out there to be had.
Standout Tracks: Gaining Momentum and Too Legit To Quit
January 26, 2007I bought this TLTQ back in '91 when i still liked music (?!). After (mc)hammer's smash hit album 'Please hammer don't hurt them', he came up with this ambitious bulldozer with epic and yes even dramatic dimensions, complete with the hammering (héhé), migraine-provoking chants that rather belong in a football stadium than on a record. Compared to the club-like,relatively intimate setting of PHDHT with accordingly simple means, here, ample resources have been addressed with accordingly the feel of a vast, inhospitable realm not suitable i guess for the agoraphobic, the great outdoors, you know. Is it as funny or carefree as PHDHT? Funny? I doubt it. Carefree? Believe it or not but the rhythm in TLTQ is not very spontaneous, it has a rather oldfashioned (almost classical!) feel to it. And also the assemblage of tracks is somewhat deliberate and calculated (yeah Put her in the mix!). Despite the social and humanitarian awareness that seems to be on the forefront, the whole concept feels rather cold (like metal - no not the genre - like metal of a hammer - no not the artist.. uhm..). Grand symphony of rap? Well, anyway it's an impressive and admirable accomplishment that here and there might give you goosebumps and that's what it's all about, right?
Most entertaining or characteristic tracks (to me,that is) 1, 6, 8, 12,13
September 13, 2005 | | Stanley Kirk Burrell's second megahit! | |
TOO LEGIT TO QUIT,released in October 1991,was the second meaghit for this artist,now simply known as Hammer. The success of PLEASE HAMMER DON'T HURT 'EM,released only 20 months earlier,prompted Hammer to record this album immediately. Aside from the title track,hits include the religiously themed DO NOT PASS ME BY and THIS IS THE WAY WE ROLL. Shortly after this album was released,Hammer guest-hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live and was a musical guest as well. In that episode,he performed THIS IS THE WAY WE ROLL and the title track. Also,there's ADDAMS GROOVE,on the cassette format of this album. That track is from the movie "The Addams Family",based on the 1960's sitcom. All the aforementioned tracks would later appear on the GREATEST HITS compilation,released in 1996. This is Hammer's third album ever,and on the Capitol label(he would be dropped after this album).
February 17, 2004| | | Why Didn't He Put Addam's Groove On It? | |
if hammer had put addam's groove on this album it would have been better than please hammer don't hurt 'em. this album sported 2 top 10 singles, this is the way we roll and 2 legit 2 quit, and could've sported a 3rd, addam's groove, which helped promote the addam's family movie instead, and peaked at no. 8 on the singles charts.
July 11, 2000| | | You're not legit enough when you don't buy this CD! | |
Hammer's "Too Legit To Quit" LP is a must buy! It was way back in 1991 when I bought the album! It rocks, man! It's an outstanding rap album better than gangsta rap
June 22, 2000More reviews at Amazon.com ...
(6 reviews)