Sunday, February 23, 2020

MC Hammer - "Pray" (1990 Hip Hop/Pop/Religious Song)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides information about MC Hammer and showcases Hammer's 1990 song "Pray".

Information about this song is included in this post along with lyrics and comments.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, religious, and aesthetic reasons.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to MC Hammer for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are featured in this video and all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks to the publisher of this song on YouTube.
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This pancocojams post is a re-print of updated version of a 2015 pancocojams post. That post has no comments.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: MC Hammer - Pray



TheSevenSunny, Sep 30, 2011
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This video was added to replace an earlier video that is no longer available.
Here are two comments from the discussion thread for that earlier video:015
1.djmikecamocampbell, January 2015
"Another Artists Sample making Hammer a Popular Act, Prince "When Doves Cry" "

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2. oaklandsoldier8520, March 2015
"Before p.diddy, Hammer was and is the king of sampling hits from the 80's. Oaktown legend. Much love and respect Hammer. One of the GOAT"
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"Oaktown" = an affectionate nickname for Oakland, California where M.C. Hammer is from.
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Here are a few comments from the discussion thread for the video that is currently embedded in this post (with numbers added for referencing purposes only):
1. Malik Crenshaw, 2016
"Some people were hard on Hammer for what, and still are?? Great lyrical skills, dance, and videos. He's one of the best. He was spreading positive messages. Forget gangsta rap! What did it do for our communities. Pac was a truth teller, just like Hammer, and he was cool with Hammer, because Hammer was real to. Now we are dealing with this garbage now! Stop talking about him going broke, it can happen to anybody. The same people that supported him when his money was flowing, are the same people that turned on him for Gangsta Rap!"

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REPLY
2. DAVID ANDERSON, 2016
"Before Hammer faded into an 80s rap footnote, he tried to do gangsta rap. You forgot about that?"

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REPLY
3. malmsteen2013, 2017
"+DAVID ANDERSON he never tried doing gangsta rap. where did you see him cursing, making songs about killing or drug selling? the funky headhunter album was a new Jack swing, Teddy Riley, funk inspired beats and hammer did what hammer do great vocals, great hooks and excellent dancing."

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REPLY
4. Caelon Guillory, 2018
"Amen brother"

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REPLY
5. cartoonworld1000, 2018
"malmsteen2013 thank you atleast some people have some damn sense, funky headhunter is no gangsta album it's a new jack swing album with a g funk feel to it. I really liked that album and the one after called Inside Out was basically just like funky headhunter but minus the harder lyrics, it went back to his previous positive lyrics."

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INFORMATION ABOUT MC HAMMER
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MC_Hammer
"Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1963),[1] better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper, dancer, record producer and entrepreneur. He had his greatest commercial success and popularity from the late 1980s until the early 1990s. Remembered for his rapid rise to fame, Hammer is known for hit records (such as "U Can't Touch This" and "2 Legit 2 Quit"), flashy dance movements, choreography and eponymous Hammer pants.[2

[...]

Burrell became a preacher during the late 1990s with a Christian ministry program on TBN called M.C. Hammer and Friends. Additionally, he starred in a Saturday-morning cartoon called Hammerman in 1991, and was executive producer of his own reality show called Hammertime, which aired on the A&E Network during the summer of 2009"....

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INFORMATION ABOUT MC HAMMER'S SONG "PRAY"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pray_(MC_Hammer_song)
" "Pray" was the third single released from M.C. Hammer's third album, Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em. Produced by M.C. Hammer himself, the song heavily sampled Prince's hit song, "When Doves Cry", the first and one of the few songs legally sanctioned by Prince to incorporate samples of one of his compositions. The track also sampled Faith No More's "We Care a Lot".[1]

"Pray" became Hammer's biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number two, becoming a Top-20 hit in nine countries. The track helped make Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em the number one album of the year.[2] In the U. S., the song was certified gold on November 26, 1990, with sales over 500,000 copies.

This hit single (accompanied with music videos[3]) became one of Hammer's most popular songs and has appeared on several compilation albums, including Greatest Hits, Back 2 Back Hits and The Hits. It also appeared in Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em: The Movie (1990). "Pray" was repeated 147 times during the song, setting the record for an American Top 40 hit.[4]"

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES
The "MC" in this Hip Hop artist's name is a title that refers to his rapping skills: In Hip Hop, "MC" (master of ceremony) is the rapper. "DJ" (dis jockey) is the records selector and records performer (stratching, mixing etc.)

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African American religious services by generally prohibits secular dancing such as that shown in this video. However, an increasing number of church groups/individuals dance (including mime) to religious music and certain non-religious music, usually during church programs other than the formal Sunday services.e performed by dancers or mimes. The only kinds of dancing that are acceptable in some African American churches is "holy dancing" - dancing that is the result of feeling the Holy Spirit.

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The loose fitting pants worn by MC Hammer and his male dancers in scenes of this video (and in other performances) are forms of "harem pants". Here's information about "harem pants" from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harem_pants
..."The original so-called 'harem pants/skirts' were introduced to Western fashion by Paul Poiret around 1910, although they themselves were inspired by Middle East styles, and by şalvar (Turkish trousers)... A version of harem pants popularized in the late 1980s by [American Rapper] M. C. Hammer[11] became known as Hammer pants."
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/02/dundunba-dance-traditional-purpose.html for a pancocojams posts of Guinea, West Africa dundunba drumming and dancing. The traditional pants worn by many of the male dancers are very similar in form to harem pants, and may have been, at least partially, where MC Hammer got the inspiration for that clothing style. Note: MC Hammer's dancing styles in this video aren't the same as the dundunba (strong man) dance.

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LYRICS- PRAY
(Stanley Kirk Burrell, aka MC Hammer)

That's word, we pray, pray, pray
We got to pray just to make it today
I said, "We pray", pray, ah yeah, we pray, pray
We got to pray just to make it today, that's word, we pray


All my life I wanted to make it to the top
Some said I wouldn't, they told me no but I didn't stop
Working hard, making those movies everyday
And on my knees, every night, you know I pray


I said, "We pray", pray, ah yeah, we pray, pray
We got to pray just to make it today
I said, "We pray", pray, ah yeah, we pray, pray
We got to pray just to make it today, that's word, we pray


Now I just think that you can do whatever you want
I'm bustin' these rhymes, making this money and I won't
Forget my people or my town or my ways
And on my knees, every night, I'm still gonna pray


That's word, we pray, pray, ah yeah, we pray, pray
We got to pray just to make it today
I said, "We pray", pray, ah yeah, we pray, pray
We got to pray just to make it today, that's word, we pray


Time and time and time and time and time again
I kept on knocking but these people wouldn't let me in
I tried and tried and tried and tried to make a way
But nothing happened till that day that I prayed
That's word, we pray, pray, ah yeah, we pray, pray
We got to pray just to make it today
I said, "We pray", pray, ah yeah, we pray, pray
We got to pray just to make it today, that's word, we pray


Children dying, oh so fast from this or that
Need that money, bookin' that dope, smokin' that crack
Ten years old, stand outside, better looked out
Dead and gone, never had a chance, what's it all about?


That's word, we pray, pray, ah yeah, we pray, pray
We need to pray just to make it today
I said, "We pray", pray, ah yeah, we pray, pray
We need to pray just to make it today that's word, we pray
Pray, pray, that's word we pray, thats word we pray
That's word, we pray, that's word, we pray


That's word, we pray, pray, ah yeah, we pray, pray
We need to pray just to make it today
I said, "We pray", pray, ah yeah, we pray, pray
We need to pray just to make it today, that's word, we pray


All our missions start to doubt, here we go
Kicking back, read these words, we need to know
Living high, living good, living long
Take a minute, bust a prayer and you're good to go


That's word, we pray, pray, ah yeah, we pray, pray
We need to pray just to make it today
I said, "We pray", pray, ah yeah, we pray, pray
We need to pray just to make it today, that's word, we pray


We're sending this one out to the Lord and we thank you
And we know, we need to pray, 'cause all the blessings
That are good they come from above and once again we want
To say, "Thank you" to the Lord with all our love, we are here


That's word, we pray, pray, pray, pray, pray
That's word, we pray, that's word, we pray
That's word, we pray, that's word, we pray


That's word, we pray, pray, pray, pray, pray
That's word, we pray, pray, pray that's word, we pray
That's word, we pray, that's word, we pray


That's word, we pray, pray, pray
That's word, we pray, pray, pray
That's word, we pray, pray, pray, that's word, we pray
That's word, we pray

Source: https://play.google.com/music/preview/T73ehb3grpeuznabpjw7dq5ytzm?lyrics=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=lyrics&pcampaignid=kp-lyrics&u=0#.
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Here's two explanations about words/phrases in those lyrics
"that's word" = that's right ; In the early 1980s, "Word" was a one word affirmation from African American Vernacular English which meant the same thing as the earlier affirmations "Tell it!", "Tell the truth!", "Tell it like it is!" ("Tell it like it is, was, and will be!".

"bust a prayer" = make a prayer (pray). The word "bust" in this line came from the African American Vernacular phrase "bust a move" (move).

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RELATED LINK
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/09/african-american-slang-in-mc-hammers-u.html "African American Slang In M.C. Hammer's "U Can't Touch This""

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